susan woods , university of adelaide ; hannah brown , university of adelaide , and tamsin lannagan , university of adelaide
ordinarily, this cell regeneration (and the controlled cell death) is exquisitely controlled. but occasionally errors are made, particularly in the gate-keeping processes that control how quickly and efficiently the cells regenerate. the process then begins to get out of control .
pre-cancers are abnormal cells which have undergone some changes that we know are associated with an increased risk of becoming cancerous, but are not yet cancer. these changes include alterations to the inherited material (dna) of the cells and the way those cells talk to their neighbouring cells and the immune system.
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the same precautions that reduce your chances of cancer are likely to reduce the earliest changes associated with pre-cancer.
in addition to regular screening , quit smoking, protect yourself from excess sun, eat a balanced diet with plenty of fibre and exercise regularly. and as always, if you have any concerns or would like more information, talk to your doctor.
this article is republished from the conversation under a creative commons license. read the original article .