cancer

I. The Basics
A. “Transformation” from a normal to a cancerous state occurs at the level of individual cells.
· metastatic cancer cells resemble the primary cancer
· cancers are usually clonal in origin
(X-inactivation studies in females;
unique Ig or TCR rearrangements in lymphoid cancers)


· single cell transformation can be observed in culture systems
(decreased adherence, anchorage independence for growth,
loss of contact inhibition, decreased growth factor requirement,
increased nutrient uptake and membrane ruffling)
· Implications: Cancer arises at the level of the single cell and therefore must be understood at that level. This is different than other common diseases such as hypertension or diabetes that are due to "systemic" perturbations in physiology.


B. Cancer is primarily a genetic disease.
· somatic mutations occur in common “sporadic” (non-familial) cancers
· inherited germline mutations occur in rar...