Abstract
We have seen in Chap. 1 that all the hallmarks of cancer are related to molecular mechanisms in cells, driven by expression levels of key genes. Moreover, these genes are many times connected through genetic pathways. We have discussed the apoptosis pathway in Chap. 1. We start this chapter with a review of the fundamental concepts in genetics and molecular biology. We then discuss the genetic landscape of cancer. It is a complex problem to implicate specific genes for particular types of cancer, and our understanding is evolving all the time. We discuss the current understanding of the genetic landscapes for several important types of cancer. Finally we discuss some of the important pathways involved in cancer.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
B. Alberts, A.D. Johnson, J. Lewis, D. Morgan, M. Raff, K. Roberts, P. Walter, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 6th edn. (Garland Science, New York, 2015)
B. Vogelstein, N. Papadopoulos, V.E. Velculescu, S. Zhou, L.A. Diaz Jr., K.W. Kinzler, Cancer genome landscapes. Science 339, 1546–1558 (2013)
P.J. Stephens et al., The landscape of cancer genes and mutational processes in breast cancer. Nature 486(7403), 400–404 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11017
US National Library of Medicine, Genetics Home Reference, https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene
NCBI gene resources, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene
D. Huang et al., Mutations of key driver genes in colorectal cancer progression and metastasis. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 37, 173–187 (2018)
X. Wang et al., The molecular landscape of synchronous colorectal cancer reveals genetic heterogeneity. Carcinogenesis 39(5), 708–718 (2018)
X. Li et al., Genomic analysis of liver cancer unveils novel driver genes and distinct prognostic features. Theranostics 8(6), 1740–1751 (2018)
E.A. Semenova, R. Nagel, A. Berns, Origins, genetic landscape, and emerging therapies for small cell lung cancer. Genes Dev. 29, 1447–1462 (2015)
L. Jiang et al., Genomic landscape survey identifies SRSF1 as a key oncodriver in small cell lung cancer. PLOS Genet. (2016). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005895
R. Govindan et al., Genomic landscape of non-small cell lung cancer in smokers and never smokers. Cell 150(6), 1121–1134 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2012.08.024
L. Ding et al., Somatic mutations affect key pathways in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature 455, 1069–1075 (2008)
N. Hayward et al., Whole-genome landscapes of major melanoma subtypes. Nature 545, 175–180 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22071
E. Hodis et al., A landscape of driver mutations in melanoma. Cell 150(2), 251–263 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2012.06.024
N. Waddell et al., Whole genomes redefine the mutational landscape of pancreatic cancer. Nature 518(7540), 495–501 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14169
M.F. Berger et al., Melanoma genome sequencing reveals frequent PLEX2 mutations. Nature 485, 502–206 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11071
A. Ojesina et al., Landscape of genomic alterations in cervical carcinomas. Nature 506(7488), 371–375 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12881
B. Vogelstein, K.W. Kinzler, Nat. Med. 10, 789–799 (2004)
O. Dreesen, A.H. Brivanlou, Signaling pathways in cancer and embryonic stem cells. Stem Cell Rev. 3(1), 7–17 (2007)
A. Weiss, L. Attisano, The TGFbeta superfamily signaling pathway. WIREs Dev. Biol. 2, 47–63 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1002/wdev.86
R. Sever, J.S. Brugge, Signal transduction in cancer. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Med. 5, 1006098 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a006098
J. Messagué, TGFβ signalling in context. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 13, 616–630 (2012)
F. Verrecchia, A. Mauviel, Transforming growth factor-β signaling through the Smad pathway: role in extracellular matrix gene expression and regulation. J. Invest. Darmatol. 118(2), 211–215 (2002)
Y. Xia, S. Shen, I.M. Verma, NF-κB, and active player in human cancers. Cancer Immunol. Res. 2(9), 823–830 (2014)
T. Żhan, N. Rindtorff, M. Boutros, Wnt signaling in cancer. Oncogene 36, 1461–1473 (2017)
W. Zhang, H.T. Liu, MAPK signal pathways in the regulation of cell proliferation in mammalian cells. Cell Res. 12(1), 9–18 (2002)
B.A. Hemmings, D.F. Restuccia, PI3K-PKB/AKT pathway. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 4, a011189 (2012)
J.S.L. Yu, W. Cui, Proliferation, survival and metabolism: the role of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in pluripotency and cell fate determination. Development 143, 3050–3060 (2016)
J.Ć. Haan et al., Genomic landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer. Nat. Commun. 5, 5457 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6457
N. Hama et al., Epigenetic landscape influences the liver cancer genomic architecture. Nat. Commun. 9, 1643 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03999-y
S.M. Hong et al., Molecular signatures of pancreatic cancer. Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. 135(6), 716–727 (2011)
S. Li, H.M. Lu, M.H. Black, The current genetic landscape of triple-negative breast cancer. J. Lab. Precis. Med. 3, 94 (2018)
R. Nahar et al., Elucidating the genomic architecture of Asian EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma through multi-region exome sequencing. Nat. Commun. 9, 216 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02584-z
S. Nik-Zainal et al., Landscape of somatic mutations in 560 breast cancer whole-genome sequences. Nature 534, 47–54 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17676
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Roy, M., Datta, A. (2019). Cancer: Genetics and Important Pathways. In: Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9471-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9471-3_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9470-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9471-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)