1. RECENT RESEARCH ADVANCES Genetic instability as an underlying mechanism of cancer

摘要: A fundamental principle underlying the formation of cancer is the sequential acquisition of alterations in specific genes. These alterations lead to genetic instability that fuel the growth of cancer cells. A fraction of cancers exhibit a form of genetic instability called microsatellite instability (MIN), which is often characterized by mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency. Loss of MMR functions renders tumor cells susceptible to the acquisition of somatic mutations throughout the genome. A more common form of genetic instability is chromosomal instability (CIN), which is usually manifested as aneuploidy. Mounting evidence suggests that the spindle assembly checkpoint in mitosis is the point of failure in CIN. Thus, defects in genes involved in mitotic spindle checkpoint, centrosome duplication, recombination, DNA repair or damage response have often been associated with the formation of aneuploidy. Additionally, telomere …