A patient's cancer cells exhibit uncontrolled growth despite intact DNA repair mechanisms. Which mechanism explains why these cells bypass apoptosis despite their growth factor receptor mutations?

💡 Explanation

Uncontrolled growth often stems from growth factor receptor mutations that improperly activate downstream pathways. Cancer cells maintain growth due to constitutive PI3K/AKT pathway activation, which inhibits apoptosis because it upregulates anti-apoptotic proteins; therefore, the cells avoid programmed cell death, rather than initiating apoptosis via caspases or pro-apoptotic BAX proteins.

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