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Since the 17th century, the field of epidemiology has been responsible for the identification of external agents capable of causing cancer. In the last decades of the 20th century, geneticists isolated internal agents—genetic variations that cause inherited predisposition to specific tumour types. Also during that period and into the 21st century, scientists gained detailed knowledge about the molecules that cause cells to develop abnormal behaviours such as limitless reproduction, invasion of surrounding tissues, and spread (metastasis) to other regions of the body. As a result, there exists a great deal of information regarding the mechanisms by which various agents, external ...(100 of 21846 words)