This chapter deals with the molecular mechanisms of cancer development.
By and large it is all about mutations and the genes that these mutations effect.
The genes involved in the development of cancer fall into two main groups, firstly the genes involved in the development of the cancer cell with respect to loss of regulation of cell division and secondly genes involved with the metastatic process. This is a somewhat arbitrary division but is useful in a teleological sense.
Loss of regulation of cell division leads to unchecked division. This may lead to the formation of a local tumor without dissemination. However, all of the common malignant cancers disseminate at an early stage, as shown by the recent research in micrometastases.