title: [Genetics and environmental factors in gastric carcinogenesis].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gastric cancer is considered to be the second most common cancer worldwide. Carcinogenesis of the stomach is a multi-stage process. The progression from normal epithelial to tumor cells may involve at least five stages: superficial gastritis, chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma. These sequential changes in the gastric mucosa may occur over a period of many years as a result of exposure to a variety of exogenous and/or endogenous factors which cause genetic alterations. Recent developments in molecular genetics have shown that the accumulation of these multiple genetic alterations, including activation of oncogenes and inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes, results in cancer development. Genetic alterations previously reported in gastric carcinomas include amplifications or mutations of the c-ERBB2, K-RAS, c-MET and TP53. Chromosomal gains were also found in various combinations with chromosomal losses and may be associated with the overexpression of dominant oncogenes contributing to tumor progression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These accumulated genetic changes in carcinomas provide evidences for the stepwise mode of gastric carcinogenesis through the accumulation of a series of genetic alterations.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina Gobbo
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: César
authors.forename: Ana Elizabete
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Eloiza Helena
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Tajara
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology