Summary of Key Points Biomarker development has profoundly affected basic understanding of carcinogenesis and expanded means of intervention in human cancers. Biomarkers have been applied with variable success in three broad areas that correspond to phases of tumor development and…
Summary of Key Points A root cause of cancer is the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic defects in key cellular pathways regulating proliferation, differentiation, and death. The defects in cancer cells are of two types: gain-of-function alterations affecting oncogenes, and…
Summary of Key Points The discovery of inherited mutations of genes associated with increased risk for cancer provides important clinical opportunities for early detection and prevention of common and rare forms of human malignancies. Syndromes of cancer predisposition often involve…
Summary of Key Points More than 15% of human cancers are known today to be caused by viruses. A hallmark of virally induced cancers is that they are associated with persistent viral infections. Although some viruses encode oncogenes that directly…
Summary of Key Points DNA repair and the cellular response to DNA damage are critical for maintaining genomic stability. Defects in DNA repair or the response to DNA damage encountered from endogenous or external sources results in an increased rate…
Summary of Key Points Current Concepts in Carcinogenesis A key paradigm in environmental carcinogenesis—that of gene-environment interactions, a concept used to describe the complex interplay between individual or population genetics and responses to chemical agents—has undergone an expansive transformation into…
Summary of Key Points Metabolism supports biosynthesis, energetics, and cell signaling including chromatin state and epigenetics. A common feature of each element of malignancy is the necessity to adapt metabolic functions. Altered metabolism in key metabolic pathways and networks is…
Summary of Key Points A solid tumor is an organ composed of neoplastic cells and stromal cells including immune cells nourished by vasculature made of endothelial cells—all embedded in an extracellular matrix. The interactions among these cells, their surrounding matrix,…
Summary of Key Points Many tumors originate in organs and tissues that undergo a continuous process of cell turnover, which is sustained by a minority population of stem cells (e.g., the colon, breast, lung, prostate, brain, and bone marrow). Stem…
Summary of Key Points Cancer is characterized by genetic and epigenetic instability leading to both unique and sometimes common mutations and “ectopic” overexpression of genes not normally expressed in the tissue of origin. Cancer-specific proteins arising as a result of…