{
  "id": "cancer.disease",
  "term": "cancer",
  "sense": "disease",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 17,
  "arena": "everyday",
  "domain": "medical",
  "style": null,
  "definition": "a change when cells grow more than usual and differ from normal in structure or function",
  "folk_gloss": null,
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "cell.biological",
      "growth.development",
      "difference.relation",
      "change.process",
      "increase.quantity",
      "usual.common"
    ],
    "interaction": "cells increase in number beyond normal growth patterns and differ in behavior or form from typical cells, disrupting regular tissue function",
    "novel_properties": [
      "uncontrolled proliferation",
      "abnormal cellular morphology",
      "tissue invasion potential"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "In 2018, a melanoma tumor in James Watson's lung grew rapidly, displacing healthy tissue.",
      "domain": "biology"
    },
    {
      "text": "The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone saw uncontrolled plant growth after human management ceased in 1986.",
      "domain": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "text": "A software bug in the Therac-25 radiation therapy machine caused abnormal dose outputs in 1986.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "id": "health.condition",
      "type": "is-a",
      "note": "cancer is a health condition"
    }
  ],
  "used_by": [],
  "forms": [
    "cancer",
    "cancers"
  ],
  "closed": false,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "openrouter:openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.6,
    "reconciled": {
      "by": "openrouter:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
      "date": "2026-07-31",
      "changed": "factual",
      "note": "Definition corrected to include necessary emergent concepts and accurately reflect oncological reality; components updated to match."
    }
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cancer.disease"
}