CIN-ful cancers.
Aneuploidy has long been recognized to be a cardinal feature of many neoplasias. However, the role of aneuploidy in tumorigenesis continues to be a matter of debate. We believe that aneuploidy in cancers is the result of chromosomal instability, a process in which dividing cancer cells segregate their chromosomes with decreased fidelity. Here we discuss our definition of chromosomal instability, evidence for its causal role in tumor development, and suggestions regarding the mechanisms that initiate chromosomal instability in cancer cells.
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
Harith
H
Rajagopalan
Christoph
C
Lengauer
D000782:Aneuploidy; D002453:Cell Cycle; D043171:Chromosomal Instability; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*