Question

If you were a cancer researcher working on a cure, would you want to design a chemotherapy drug that would speed up the cell cycle or slow it down? Why?

Answer 1

Slow it down. Tumors are masses that are growing for a period of time, whether it be constant or not (benign). If you sped up that process, you’d end up with an overgrowth of bad, swollen cells.

Answer 2

Answer

Yes, I would think of formulating this treatment to slow down the cell growth.

Explanation

In a cancer patient, the cell cycle is disturbed because it undergoes division very rapidly, leading to the production of unwanted and uncontrolled growth of cells. For the treatment, it would be a better option for the researcher to formulate a anti-cancer agent that slows the cell cycle. Because if the growth of the cell is slowed, the tumour (unwanted and uncontrolled cell growth) will regress and thus more chances of recovery of the patient will be there.