There are certain observations to defend the statement "Cancer is a genetic disease."
There are many evidences showing a genetic origin for the transformation of cells from the benign state into the cancerous state. They are as follows:
1. Certain chemicals and radiation are called mutagenic agents. They cause cancer by producing mutations in the genes.
2. Mutations that are frequently associated with certain kinds of cancers have been found out by scientists.
3. Oncogene mutations work in the cancer cell as gain-of-function dominant mutations. These oncogenes code for certain proteins. These proteins are usually activated in tumor cells.
4. An aggregate of cells, which arise from a founder cell, is called a malignant tumor. The multiple tumors at various sites in the body even at the advanced stage of cancer are all members of a single clone.
5. Cancer is the accumulation of multiple mutations in a single cell, which causes the proliferation of the cell out of control.
6. Some cancers produced due to mutations may be transmitted from the parents to progeny through the germ line.
7. Many cancers are produced by somatic-cell transformation of a particular cell.