Read the passage carefully. Attempt the questions.
In our body, cell growth and differentiation is highly controlled and regulated. In cancer cells, there is breakdown of these regulatory mechanisms. Cancerous cells just continue to divide giving rise to masses of cells called tumors. Benign tumors normally remain confined to their original location. The malignant tumors, on the other hand are a mass of proliferating cells. These cells actively divide and starve the normal cells by competing for vital nutrients. Cells sloughed from such tumors reach distant sites through blood, and wherever they get lodged in the body, they start a new tumor there. This property is called metastasis. Transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells may be induced by physical, chemical or biological agents called carcinogens.
Benign tumors are normally remain confined to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Original location and do not spread to other parts of the body.
Option (1) Blood and later spread to other parts of body. — Incorrect. Entering the blood and spreading to other parts is metastasis, the property of malignant tumours. Benign tumours stay where they started.
Option (2) Original location and do not spread to other parts of the body. — Correct. A benign tumour stays at its original location and does not spread, so it does little damage. Spreading to distant sites through the blood (metastasis) is what marks a malignant tumour.
Option (3) Original location and later spread to all the body parts. — Incorrect. Benign tumours do not spread to other parts of the body, now or later. Spreading is a feature of malignant tumours.
Option (4) Original location and cause heavy damage to the body parts. — Incorrect. Benign tumours stay in their original location and cause little damage. Heavy damage to body tissues is caused by malignant tumours, which invade them.
Note: The passage is taken from NCERT. NTA has put lines of the NCERT text together to make it. Most CUET (UG) questions come straight from NCERT, so study the book line by line, including figures and their titles.
NCERT Extract:
Cancer – “… 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. As these cells actively divide and grow they also starve the normal cells by competing for vital nutrients.”