Molecular Biology Commons^™

Tracking Profiles Of Genomic Instability In Spontaneous Transformation And Tumorigenesis, Lesley Lawrenson

Wayne State University Dissertations

The dominant paradigm for cancer research focuses on the identification of specific genes for cancer causation and for the discovery of therapeutic targets. Alternatively, the current data emphasize the significance of karyotype heterogeneity in cancer progression over specific gene-based causes of cancer. Variability of a magnitude significant to shift cell populations from homogeneous diploid cells to a mosaic of structural and numerical chromosome alterations reflects the characteristic low-fidelity genome transfer of cancer cell populations. This transition marks the departure from micro-evolutionary gene-level change to macro-evolutionary change that facilitates the generation of many unique karyotypes within a cell population. Considering cancer …