Genetic Instability and Tumorigenesis (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology)

This book reviews our current level of understanding of the role of genetic instability in human tumorgenesis. In this incredibly rapidly moving field, discoveries in recent years have elucidated a number of important gene products which control cellular responses to DNA damaging agents, such as DNA repair and cell cycle perturbations. Mutations in these genes appear to be important contributors to the development of a significant percentage of human tumors. Furthermore, inherited mutations in some of these genes appear to be responsible for a number of familial cancer susceptibility syndromes and studies of the molecular basis for cancer predisposition in these families have provided many insights into the molecular basis of cancer development. Elucidation of these molecular mechanisms also provides a link between exposures to environmental DNA damaging agents and the genetic changes which result in human cancers. . The discussions cover the gamut from scientific insights into genetic instability learned from simple model systems, such as yeast, to the genes which control these processes in human cells and contribute to human tumor development. Such information is being used to develop approaches to reduce cancer development and to provide more specific targets to improve cancer therapies.