ENGLISH

Cancer Genome and Tumor Microenvironment

By Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko (auth.) , Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko (eds.)

Book information

Publisher
Springer-Verlag New York
Year
2010
ISBN
1441907106, 9781441907103
DOI
10.1007/978-1-4419-0711-0
Open Library ID
OL25147379M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
24 MB (24754821 bytes)
Series
Cancer Genetics
Edition
1
Pages
480\490
Topic
Biology Ecology
Time added
2011-06-04 13:46:07
Cancer Research; Oncology

Description

Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes had been traditionally studied in the context of cell proliferation, differentiation, senescence, and survival, four relatively cell-autonomous processes. Consequently, in the late ‘80s-mid ‘90s, neoplastic growth was described largely as a net imbalance between cell accumulation and loss, brought about through mutations in cancer genes. In the last ten years, a more holistic understanding of cancer slowly emerged, stressing the importance of interactions between neoplastic and various stromal components: extracellular matrix, basement membranes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells of blood and lymphatic vessels, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, etc . Nevertheless, the commonly held view is that changes in tumor microenvironment are "soft-wired", i.e. epigenetic in nature and often reversible. Yet, there exists a large body of evidence suggesting that well-known mutations in cancer genes profoundly affect tumor milieu. In fact, these cell-extrinsic changes might be one of the primary reasons such mutations are preserved in late-stage tumors. Cancer Genome and Tumor Microenvironment reviews how tumor microenvironment and progression can be "hard-wired", i.e. genetically controlled.

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