In order for a mutation to initiate cancer formation, which of the following conditions must exist?

Telomerase is expressed in normal, adult stem cells.

Which factor is MOST responsible for the decline in the death rate of cancer?

The type of tissue that lines, covers, and protects all internal and external surfaces in the body and is the source of most human cancers is mesenchymal tissue.

Resisting cell death is the behavioral hallmark caused by loss of tumor suppressor function.

Which of the following can cause mutations in driver genes that control cell division?

Proto-oncogenes are limited to one mechanism by which they can become mutated and cause sustained proliferation.

Tumor suppressor gene mutations are dominant mutations (the mutation of one allele will change the gene function). 

The basement membrane (basal lamina) is a set of extracellular matrix proteins that allow stem cells to anchor themselves to the body, which is a requirement for stem cell survival.

Events occurring during the pre-malignant phase of carcinoma development include all of the following EXCEPT: