CA

Cancer arises following activating mutations of
oncogenes and/or inactivating mutations of
tumour suppressor genes.
• Oncogenesis is a multistep process involving
immortalization, growth factor autonomy,
inhibition of cell death pathways and the capacity
to invade local tissues and/or promote blood
vessel growth.
• Understanding of mechanisms of tumorigenesis
has been greatly facilitated by technological
advances, including sequence databases,
microarray analysis and gene targeting in animal
models.
• Cytogenetic analysis has identified many
oncogenes and tumour suppressors deregulated
as a result of chromosomal rearrangement.