Read the following passage and answer the following questions:
Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases of human beings and is a major cause of death all over the globe. More than a million Indians suffer from cancer and a large number of them die from it annually. The mechanisms that underlie development of cancer or oncogenic transformation of cells, its treatment and control have been some of the most intense areas of research in biology and medicine. Normal cells show a property called contact inhibition by virtue of which contact with other cells inhibits their uncontrolled growth. Cancer cells appear to have lost this property. As a result of this, cancerous cells just continue to divide giving rise to masses of cells called tumors. Transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells may be induced by carcinogens. Radiations cause DNA damage leading to neoplastic transformation. Cancer causing viruses called oncogenic viruses have genes called viral oncogenes. Cancer detection is based on biopsy and histopathological studies of the tissue and blood and bone marrow tests for increased cell counts in the case of leukemias. Techniques like radiography, CT and MRI are very useful to detect cancers of the internal organs. The common approaches for treatment of cancer are surgery, radiation therapy and immunotherapy.
What is the other name for the mass of proliferating cells in malignant tumors?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Neoplastic cells
Tumours are of two types. Benign tumours stay at their original site and cause little damage. Malignant tumours are a mass of proliferating cells called neoplastic or tumour cells; these cells grow very fast and invade the nearby normal tissues. The passage mentions only ‘neoplastic transformation’, not the name of these cells.
Option (1) Benign cells — Incorrect. Benign tumours stay confined to their original location and do not spread. Their cells are not the mass of proliferating cells of a malignant tumour.
Option (2) Carcinogens — Incorrect. Carcinogens are the physical, chemical or biological agents that cause cancer, such as X-rays or the chemicals in tobacco smoke. They are not cells of a tumour.
Option (3) Neoplastic cells — Correct. The proliferating cells of a malignant tumour are called neoplastic cells, or tumour cells.
NCERT Extract:
Cancer – “… Tumors are of two types: benign and malignant. Benign tumors normally remain confined to their original location and do not spread to other parts of the body and cause little damage. The malignant tumors, on the other hand are a mass of proliferating cells called neoplastic or tumor cells. These cells grow very rapidly, invading and damaging the surrounding normal tissues.”