title: Cancer genomes evolve by pulverizing single chromosomes.
abstract: A report in this issue describes "chromothripsis," a new mechanism for genetic instability in cancer cells. Chromothripsis appears to be a cataclysmic event in which a single chromosome is fragmented and then reassembled. The phenomenon raises important questions of how chromosome rearrangements can be confined to defined genome segments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. matthew_meyerson@dfci.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyerson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pellman