The treatments available only cure half of them. Many new strategies, including gene therapy are in developmental stages for treating cancer.
Cancer is considered a genetic disorder.
Two main properties of cancer are uncontrollable cell division and the ability to spread or metastasize. Both are results of genetic alterations. Mutations in the cells that lead to certain forms of cancer, can be identified as inherited in some families. In most cases, however, it is difficult to identify a simple pattern of inheritance. There are two ways to regulate cell division.