Overview Section: Genetics of Cancer: Away from the Beaten Track

摘要

It has been realized for many years that cancer has a genetic component and at the level of thencell it can be said to be a genetic disease. In 1914, Boveri suggested that an aberration in thengenome might be responsible for the origin of cancer. This was subsequently supported by thenevidence that cancer, or the risk of cancer, could be inherited; that mutagens could cause tumors innboth animals and humans, and that tumors are monoclonal in origin, that is, the cells of a tumor allnshow the genetic characteristics of the original transformed cell. It is only in recent years that theninvolvement of specific genes has been demonstrated at the molecular level. Cancer cells containnmany alterations wich accumulate as tumors develop. Understanding genetic pathways wasnconsidered to be, and still remains, the prerequisite for the development of molecular andnpharmacological therapeutics to treat and prevent cancer.