Tumor genetics
The tumor genetics deals with the genetic basis in the development of tumors . She tries to answer questions about the type of genetic change , the time of the change and the location of the change (which cell type is affected).
Studies on tumor genetics allow numerous different methodological approaches. When it comes to the question of external causes, the focus is on investigations into radiation induction of tumors, chemical carcinogenesis , virus induction and, more generally, the questions of gene mutations.
From a clinical point of view, a system of tumors can be based on the affected tissues and then the distinction between solid tumors ( carcinomas from epithelia , sarcomas from mesodermal tissue) and non-solid tumors (leukemia) etc. is up for discussion. This is directly related to the fact that a clinical approach to the question of tumor genetics focuses on the diseased organs (lung, colon, prostate tumors, leukemia, brain tumors, etc.).
From a cell biological point of view, however, completely different questions are posed. Here, for example, the cell cycle with the elements: cell division , differentiation , apoptosis and its control points can be made as the starting point for a systematic representation.
From the perspective of studying cellular signaling pathways, tumor biologists mainly deal with growth factors, membrane-bound receptors and the intracellular signal pathways, especially tyrosine kinases , GTPases and inositol trisphosphate . The tumor-biological perspective on the genetics of tumors can, in addition to the signal path, also focus on the cell nucleus and thus gene regulation via transcription factors . This is where the leukemia-associated oncogenes come into focus in tumor biology research. The DNA repair mechanisms are discussed from the point of view of the stability of the chromosomal structures.
If one looks at cells as a whole and in a multicellular grouping, the questions of contact inhibition , dedifferentiation and angiogenesis in the sense of a description of the advanced stages of tumor development become the subject of research under tumor biological aspects .
The differentiation of the developmental stages of a tumor under the aspects: transformation , immortalization , metastasis as part of a dedifferentiation process is considered out of date in tumor biology.
swell
- Cristoph Wagener: Molecular Oncology . Thieme, 1999.