4. increase in nuclear size and density of staining 5. increase in mitotic activity 6. This means that they are less likely to join together side by side. This lack of adhesiveness allows for invasion and metastasis.
Normal cells grown in culture tend to stick together causing movement to stop.
This process is known as contact inhibition. The cells form a parallel line without piling up on each other. On the other hand, cancer cell movement is chaotic and does not stop with contact from other cells. Thus, there is no inhibition within cancer cells. The cancer cells pile up and form irregular masses several layers deep.