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CIN-ful cancers

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Abstract

Aneuploidy has long been recognized to be a cardinal feature of many neoplasias. However, the role of aneuploidy in tumorigenesis continues to be a matter of debate. We believe that aneuploidy in cancers is the result of chromosomal instability, a process in which dividing cancer cells segregate their chromosomes with decreased fidelity. Here we discuss our definition of chromosomal instability, evidence for its causal role in tumor development, and suggestions regarding the mechanisms that initiate chromosomal instability in cancer cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA

    Harith Rajagopalan & Christoph Lengauer

Authors
  1. Harith Rajagopalan
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  2. Christoph Lengauer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christoph Lengauer.

Additional information

This work was presented at the 19th Bristol-Myers Squibb Nagoya International Cancer Treatment Symposium, “State of the Arts for Digestive Organs”, 14–15 November 2003, Nagoya, Japan.

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Rajagopalan, H., Lengauer, C. CIN-ful cancers. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 54 (Suppl 1), S65–S68 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-004-0889-8

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