1. They are small and can only carry a small amount of human DNA, and only infect dividing cells. 2. Because Since cancer is a condition of runaway cell growth, doctors began looking for poisons that would kill rapidly dividing cells. 3. Chemotherapy and radiation attack rapidly dividing cells in tumors, but cells deep inside the tumor exist in a kind of quiescent state, Roth said. 4. Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells and other rapidly dividing cells in the body, including the platelets used to form blood clots. 5. Mouse tumors, for example, may grow much faster than human tumors, making them more sensitive to chemotherapy that targets rapidly dividing cells. 6. The chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide kills rapidly dividing cells, which include cancer cells and some other cells in normal tissues. 7. The constantly dividing cells of both are prone to radiation damage. 8. The dividing cells are those of tissues and fluids that get a lot of wear and tear, like the skin, blood and stomach lining. 9. The mitomycin C is a well-known chemotherapy agent that attacks dividing cells by entangling their DNA strands with chemical cross-links. |