title: Genomic instability and cancer: an introduction.
abstract: Genomic instability refers to an increased tendency of alterations in the genome during the life cycle of cells. It is a major driving force for tumorigenesis. During a cell division, genomic instability is minimized by four major mechanisms: high-fidelity DNA replication in S-phase, precise chromosome segregation in mitosis, error free repair of sporadic DNA damage, and a coordinated cell cycle progression. This introduction summarizes the major molecular processes that contribute to these mechanisms in the context of prevention of genomic instability and tumorigenesis.
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D004261:DNA Replication; D042822:Genomic Instability / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis / Q000235:genetics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016196:S Phase / Q000235:genetics