OPS-Code 1-997.13:

Cancer cells from your body were examined to see whether the control of genetic information had altered.

The tissue in the body is made up of cells. With cancer, the cells multiply uncontrollably, which leads to a malignant neoplasm (abnormal growth of tissue) developing. The cancer cells can destroy the healthy tissue and spread throughout the body.

Somatic cells and therefore also cancer cells usually hold a complete blueprint of your body. This blueprint consists of genetic information.

Certain sections of genetic information are called genes. Genes contain instructions according to which a cell produces certain proteins. These proteins control many processes in the body and in the cell itself. The proteins can, for example, ensure that the cell grows and divides. Certain chemical markers on the genetic information can switch genes on or off. The genetic information itself is not changed. In cancer cells, the chemical markers and therefore the control of genetic information can be altered. Your investigation involved lots of sections of genetic information being checked for changes at the same time.

This investigation involved taking a sample of a bodily fluid and then examining the cancer cells in a laboratory using special methods. A bodily fluid can be blood or cerebrospinal fluid, for example.