Simple sequence mutations

Abstract

Almost 25 years ago a first attempt was made to decipher the various steps of colorectal tumor development. It led to the creation of a model of colorectal tumorigenesis in which the steps required for the development of cancer involve the mutational activation of an oncogene coupled with the loss of several tumor suppressor genes. This model relied on the mutational and gene expression analysis of known oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. It was further completed with data from more recent techniques such as the Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) and its latest developments the cDNA microarrays and the oligonucleotide microarray analysis (ROMA); cDNA microarrays and oligonucleotide microarrays used to analyze gene expression as well as the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE), and the study of epigenetic changes that result in loss of gene expression that can be performed by various methods such as the Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS) or DNA bisulfite treatment. Recent progression models of breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer have therefore been proposed.