Over 500,000 people in the United States and over 8 million people worldwide are dying every year from cancer. As people live longer, the incidence of cancer is rising worldwide and the disease is expected to strike over 20 million people annually by 2030. This open course is designed for people who would like to develop an understanding of cancer and how it is prevented, diagnosed, and treated.
This course is part of the Cancer Biology Specialization
Offered By
About this Course
Skills you will gain
- Cancer
- Biology
- Cancer Biology
- Cancer Genetics
Offered by

Johns Hopkins University
The mission of The Johns Hopkins University is to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Incidence and Etiology of Cancer
In this first week, we'll get a high-level introduction to the basics of cancer biology as well as incidence and common types of cancer.
Genetics of Cancer
Now, we'll turn our attention to the genetics of cancer, variation and mutation, two-hit hypothesis, and genomic instability.
Ten Cellular Hallmarks of Cancer
All cancers share ten cellular hallmarks. This week, you'll learn to identify these hallmarks in order to distinguish a normal cell from a cancerous cell.
Metastasis: The Real Killer
The lethal agent of cancer is metastasis. This week, we'll take a good look at this deadly event, TNM staging, the metastatic process, and an ecological paradigm.
Reviews
- 5 stars84.30%
- 4 stars13.50%
- 3 stars1.71%
- 2 stars0.24%
- 1 star0.22%
TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO THE BIOLOGY OF CANCER
Thanks a lot, Dr. Kenneth; the course has been very informative and mind-opening--it has also whetted my appetite to learn more about the topic.
Thanks and best of regards in your endeavours!
This course was really useful for me, and it helped me to gather more information about cancer biology as well. Thank you all the organizers who made thing course really a beneficial one.
Great course, I'm 15 and learned a lot. The ease with which each lesson can be understood changed lesson to lesson, depending on how well the researcher explained. But still great course!
Great introductory course for students and researchers interested in the field of cancer. Thanks a lot to Coursera and instructors from JHU med school to put it together. Highly recommended!
About the Cancer Biology Specialization
The healthcare system is a rapidly evolving field with new research leading to advancements in medicine. Developed at Johns Hopkins University and led by top-ranked Hopkins faculty and cancer experts, this specialization on Cancer Biology focuses on the basics of cancer biology, how cancer metastasis occurs, and specifically, screening guidelines for prostate cancer, the most common cancer in American men.

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