What causes cancer?
Cancer is abnormal cell growth, which is the result of damage - mutation - to certain crucial genes, the cell's instructions for making the proteins it needs to survive, grow and multiply. Many factors can affect the chances of the gene damage that may eventually lead to cancer, including cigarette smoke and other chemicals, a poor diet, ultraviolet radiation that causes sunburn, as well as some infections. Chemicals that cause cancer are called carcinogens.
