title: Genome instability mechanisms and the structure of cancer genomes.
abstract: Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer cells, and arises from the aberrations that these cells exhibit in the normal biological mechanisms that repair and replicate the genome, or ensure its accurate segregation during cell division. Increasingly detailed descriptions of cancer genomes have begun to emerge from next-generation sequencing (NGS), providing snapshots of their nature and heterogeneity in different cancers at different stages in their evolution. Here, we attempt to extract from these sequencing studies insights into the role of genome instability mechanisms in carcinogenesis, and to identify challenges impeding further progress.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Medical Research Council Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Liam D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Cassidy
authors.forename: Ashok R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Venkitaraman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002875:Chromosomes; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016678:Genome; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*