This programme looks at what cancer is, why it happens and the major issues surrounding it. Dr Andy Futreal, co-founder of the Cancer Genome Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge explains. Cancer is when cells start to behave in inappropriate ways, including uncontrollable cell division. The route cause of all cancers is mutations in DNA causing changes in cell behaviour. Sarah Walsh is a young woman living with melanoma. Melanoma is a type of skin cancer and studies show that one of the biggest risk factors for melanoma is overexposure to UV, either from the sun or tanning beds. Researchers now know the underlying mechanism of melanoma in 70% of cases and there is hope that a new drug will be able to stop the cancer in its tracks. But any new treatment will probably come too late for Sarah. A recent hospital scan reveals the presence of secondary tumours in her internal organs and her outlook is not good.

Video Series: KS3/4 Science
Release Date 2005