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Science

Cancer Biology

Overview

Students explore cancer as a disease of cell division gone wrong, connecting their knowledge of DNA, mutation, and cell cycle regulation to understand how normal cells become cancerous.

Learning Objective
Students understand the biological mechanisms of cancer development and can evaluate risk factors and treatment approaches in scientific terms.

Resources needed

  • None

Lesson stages

0 / 8 done
  1. 1 Ask: what is cancer? (Uncontrolled cell division producing a tumour).
  2. 2 Introduce the cell cycle: normal cells divide in a controlled way. Growth is regulated by signals from neighbouring cells.
  3. 3 Introduce proto-oncogenes: genes that promote cell division. When mutated, they become oncogenes that cause continuous, uncontrolled division.
  4. 4 Introduce tumour suppressor genes: genes that slow cell division or trigger apoptosis (programmed cell death). When mutated, their braking function is lost.
  5. 5 Cancer develops through multiple mutations accumulating over time — it requires both types of protective system to fail.
  6. 6 Introduce metastasis: cancer cells spread from the original tumour via the blood or lymph system to form secondary tumours elsewhere.
  7. 7 Discuss risk factors: carcinogens (tobacco, UV radiation, asbestos), viruses (HPV, hepatitis B), inherited mutations (BRCA1/2 and breast cancer risk).
  8. 8 Introduce treatment approaches: surgery (remove tumour), chemotherapy (kill dividing cells), radiotherapy (targeted radiation), immunotherapy (use immune system to target cancer cells).

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Discuss why cancer becomes more common with age (more time for mutations to accumulate).
  • Evaluate the scientific evidence linking specific lifestyle factors to cancer risk.
  • Discuss the ethics of genetic testing for cancer susceptibility genes — knowledge vs anxiety.
More information

Teach: tumour, oncogene, tumour suppressor, metastasis, apoptosis, carcinogen, chemotherapy, immunotherapy. The two-hit hypothesis — one mutation to oncogene, one to tumour suppressor — explains why cancer requires multiple genetic changes.

Focus on oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes as the two control systems that cancer disables, before introducing metastasis and treatment.

Can students explain why multiple mutations are required for cancer to develop? Can they describe the difference between benign and malignant tumours?

No resources needed. This is a conceptual lesson connecting genetics, cell biology, and medicine.

Students often think cancer is contagious or that it is always inherited. Cancer is a disease of accumulated somatic mutations — most cancers are not inherited, and cancer itself is not transmissible between people. Only certain viruses that can trigger cancer are transmissible.

Cancer biology integrates cell biology, genetics, and medicine. Understanding it at this level prepares students for careers in medicine and biology and gives all students the scientific literacy to evaluate cancer prevention and treatment information critically.

Activity details
Secondary Medium 25 minutes no prep Whole Class, Small Group Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Cancer Cell Division Mutations