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Genetic Instability and Cancer

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Principles of Cancer Genetics

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Abstract

When a cell prepares to divide, its genome is first duplicated and then distributed in total to each daughter cell. Every aspect of this fundamental biological process is tightly controlled, ensuring that the information encoded in the genomic DNA is not lost and does not significantly change as it is transmitted from each generation of cells to the next. A full complement of chromosomes is inherited in structurally intact form. The process of DNA replication is similarly characterized by an extraordinarily high degree of fidelity. During the proliferation of normal stem cells, genetic changes arise very rarely. The information content of the genome in the cells that compose normal tissues is therefore highly stable over the lifetime of the individual.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Fred Bunz

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  1. Fred Bunz
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Bunz, F. (2016). Genetic Instability and Cancer. In: Principles of Cancer Genetics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7484-0_4

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