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The molecular biology of carcinogenesis
Henry C. Pitot M.D., Ph.D.,
Corresponding Author
Henry C. Pitot M.D., Ph.D.
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Departments of Oncology and Pathology, The Medical School, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Departments of Oncology and Pathology, The Medical School, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706===Search for more papers by this authorHenry C. Pitot M.D., Ph.D.,
Corresponding Author
Henry C. Pitot M.D., Ph.D.
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Departments of Oncology and Pathology, The Medical School, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Departments of Oncology and Pathology, The Medical School, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706===Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 1 August 1993
Citations: 152
Abstract
Carcinogenesis may result from the action of any one or a combination of chemical, physical, biologic, and/or genetic insults to cells. The process of carcinogenesis may be divided into at least three stages: initiation, promotion, and progression. The first stage of carcinogenesis, initiation, results from an irreversible genetic alteration, most likely one or more simple mutations, transversions, transitions, and/or small deletions in DNA. The reversible stage of promotion does not involve changes in the structure of DNA but rather in the expression of the genome mediated through promoter-receptor interactions. The final irreversible stage of progression is characterized by karyotypic instablity and malignant growth. Critical molecular targets during the stages of carcinogenesis include proto-oncogenes, cellular oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes, alterations in both alleles of the latter being found only in the stage of progression. Although many of these critical target genes have been identified, the ultimate number and characteristics of molecular alterations that define neoplasia have not been elucidated.
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