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Some genetic changes that induce cell malignancy are inherited, and some are acquired by errors in gene replication when stem cells divide. Some organs have many stem cells — hence, many cell divisions during a lifetime — whereas other organs have relatively few stem cells.
Investigators at Johns Hopkins speculated that the larger the number of stem cells in an organ, the greater the risk for cancer would be in that organ. From previous research, they assessed the number of stem cells relative to the total number of cells in 31 different organs. They found a remarkably strong correlation between larger numbers of stem cells in an organ and the incidence of cancer in that organ. They also estimated that “unlucky” errors in gene replication du…