Assertion : Cancer cells are virtually immortal until the body in which they reside dies. Reason : Cancer is caused by damage to genes regulating the cell division cycle.

Step-by-step solution

Cancer is a growth disorder of cells. It starts when an apparently normal cell begins to grow in an uncontrolled and invasive way. The result is a cluster of cells, called a tumor, that constantly expands in size. Cells that leave the tumor and spread throughout the body, forming new tumors at distant sites, are called metastases. Cancer is a gene disorder of somatic tissue, in which damaged genes fail to properly control cell proliferation. The cell division cycle is regulated by a sophisticated group of proteins.