Human Molecular Genetics, 2001, Vol. 10, No. 7 655-656
© 2001 Oxford University Press
The molecular genetics of cancer: down the rabbit hole
Chris Gunter+
Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University, 2109 Adelbert Road, BRB 701, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Received 6 February 2001; Accepted 6 February 2001.
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OVERVIEW
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Like Alice in Wonderland, researchers in the molecular genetics
of cancer may feel that each discovery leads to a ‘curiouser
and curiouser’ set of questions. The initial celebration
that follows the discovery of a gene mutation associated with
a cancer soon gives way to perplexity upon learning that mutations
in this gene only account for some (usually small) percentage
of cancer cases. In addition, different mutations in the same
gene do not always cause the same phenotype, or respond in the
same way to therapeutic agents, making patient care increasingly
difficult. Epigenetic phenomena that are potentially reversible
further complicate the matter, as do gene–environment
interactions. Nevertheless, there is a strong motivation to
study these disorders, for they teach us how all cells work
by showing how processes can go wrong, and have the potential
to lead to crucial
. . . [Full Text of this Article]
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ENHANCING THE TOOLBOX
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COMMON ELEMENTS IN CANCER
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COMPLEX SYNDROMES: TWO HITS OR MANY?
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‘SINGLE-GENE’ CANCER SYNDROMES
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FUTURE DIRECTIONS: SOLVING THE RIDDLE
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FOOTNOTES
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