Cancer genetics and molecular oncology

Abstract

Cancer is a genetic disease, but there are many different types of genetic changes found within a cancer cell. The study of relatively rare cancer predisposition disorders has provided crucial insights into basic mechanisms of cellular physiology and tumorigenesis. In this chapter, we review different mechanisms that result in an inherited predisposition to cancer, including chromosomal disorders, defects in imprinted genes, mutations in tumor suppressor genes, activation of oncogenes, and mutations in DNA repair genes. This research is now being accelerated through the Human Genome Project and high throughput analysis of the genetic changes found in cancer cells. © 2006 Humana Press Inc.