Like many other diseases, cancer too is multi-factorial. The reasons could be diverse. Genetic predisposition, the effect of carcinogens, and the effect of the environment, are some of the more common causes. Sometimes, though a person may not be congenitally predisposed to the disease, with age certain cells may turn cancerous. A carcinogen-a cancer-causing agent-or a strange tweak in the cells may trigger this malignancy during the stage of natural division. The numerous ideas propagated about the causes and cures have made the study of cancer rather contentious. Oncologists, till date, have not been able to explain why some people are more susceptible while others seem to be somewhat immune to the effects of this disease, which is debilitating at the least, and sometimes fatal. However, on the preventive front, a lot of advice is available. Tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, inadequate exercise, sunlight, radiation, certain hormones, some viruses and bacteria, chemicals, family history and being overweight have all been labeled culprits. All the available advice relates only to avoidance of it. However, one can do nothing about the genes that one inherits. In fact, as far as the methods adopted to cure cancer are concerned, till date, no one approach has been deemed indisputable by the medical fraternity. A new line of inquiry is creating interest and hopes that there may be a cure available for those who have become the victims of this dreadful disease. It may help the genetically predisposed groups too. The method involves attacking the cancer-causing stem cells, which can churn out new cells and simultaneously renew themselves. This could mean an altogether new focus of all oncological research and a new line of medication that targets the cancer-spewing stem cells.

The author's primary purpose in the passage is to:
(A) Describe the formation and nature of cancerous cells.
(B) Imply that in future all research on cancer would be confined to the development of new types of drugs.
(C) Explain the various causes that increase the predisposition of a person to cancer.
(D) Discuss the possibility of way of treating cancer.
(E) Compare the traditional cancer with some recently



With which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree?

(A) When it comes to advice pertaining to avoidance of cancer, little information is available.
(B) Cancer can be caused by an abnormal mutation of cells or be triggered by carcinogens.
(C) At present, stem cell correction or manipulation is the only way to treat cancer.
(D) The cost of stem cell based curative medicines is bound to be very high.
(E) Counseling of cancer victims is an area that has somehow been overlooked by experts.