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Query: UMLS:C0596263 (carcinogenesis)
 64,820 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cancer development requires the accumulation of numerous genetic changes which are usually believed to occur through the presence of unrepaired DNA lesions. Exogenous or endogenous DNA-damaging agents can lead to mutations in the absence of efficient error-free repair, via replication of DNA damage. Several DNA repair pathways are present in living cells and well-conserved from bacteria to human cells. The nucleotide excision repair (NER), the most versatile of these DNA repair systems, recognizes and eliminates a wide variety of DNA lesions and particularly those induced by ultraviolet (UV) light. The phenotypic consequences of a NER defect in humans are apparent in rare but dramatic diseases characterized by hypersensitivity to UV and a striking clinical and genetic heterogeneity. The xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) syndrome is a human disorder inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Persistence of unrepaired DNA damage produced by exposure to UV light is associated, in the XP syndrome, with an extremely high level of skin tumors in sun-exposed sites. Several key genes are mutagenized by UV-light and are responsible for skin cancer development. Mutations are found on ras oncogenes, p53 and PTCH tumour suppressor genes in skin cancers from DNA repair proficient as well as XP patients. The typical signature of UV-induced mutations found on these genes allows one to conclude that the uvB part of sunlight is responsible for the initiation of the carcinogenesis process.
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PMID:The molecular pathways of ultraviolet-induced carcinogenesis. 1051 72

The photons of sunlight begin a series of genetic events in skin leading to cancer. UV signature mutations provide an alternative to inherited mutations as a way of identifying genes that are involved in cancer development. They augment epidemiologic and clinical data by serving as molecular evidence for the role of UV radiation in skin carcinogenesis. Signature mutations are present in TP53 and PTCH, two tumor suppressor genes responsible for non-melanoma skin cancer. We review evidence that clones of TP53-mutated cells are present in normal human and murine epidermis exposed to UVB and conclude that, in addition to being a tumorigenic mutagen, sunlight acts as a tumor promoter by favoring the clonal expansion of TP53 mutated cells. These combined actions of sunlight result in normal individuals' carrying a substantial burden of keratinocytes predisposed to cancer. Thus cancer involves both a single-cell problem and a multi-cell problem; in skin cancer, sunlight appears to drive both.
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PMID:Ultraviolet radiation induced signature mutations in photocarcinogenesis. 1053

We have investigated frameshift mutations in exonic repeats in the ATR, BRCA1, BRCA2, PTCH, CTCF, Cx26, NuMa and TGFbetaRII genes, using human tumor samples from stomach, esophagus, breast and skin and melanoma, as well as colon cancer and endometrial cancer cell lines (125 samples in total). We developed a sensitive method to detect mutations in the repeats, using the introduction of an artificial restriction site into a repeat. The method detects a single mutant among 10(3) normal genes. Thus, an alteration in a repeated sequence can be detected unambiguously. The (A)(8) repeat of BRCA2 was found mutated in only two of five colon cell lines with microsatellite instability (MI(+)). The ATR gene has an (A)(10) repeat which was altered in two of three MI(+) stomach cancer samples and one of three MI(+) endometrial cell lines. The TGFbetaRII gene [with an (A)(10) repeat] had the maximal frequency of mutations: 10 out of 13 MI(+) samples. At least one sample from all types of cancers, except melanomas, was positive for TGFbetaRII gene mutations. No mutations were found in repeats in the BRCA1, PTCH, CTCF, NuMA and Cx26 genes in any types of tumors examined. In conclusion, our study indicates that repeats were altered only in MI(+) cells and that the mutation frequencies in the genes studied differ among tumor types. Based on these results, we discuss meaningful and meaningless alterations in exonic repeats.
Carcinogenesis 1999 Nov
PMID:A novel sensitive method to detect frameshift mutations in exonic repeat sequences of cancer-related genes. 1054 25

The aim of the present study was to further clarify the histogenesis of cervical carcinoma by investigating loss of heterozygosity (LOH) among a number of tumor suppressor genes in invasive and in situ carcinoma of the cervix. Materials consisted of 16 in situ and 29 invasive carcinomas (16 squamous cell carcinomas, nine adenocarcinomas, and four adenosquamous carcinomas). DNA samples were collected by microdissection from ordinary formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, both from the lesions and from normal tissues. LOH was analyzed using eight DNA polymorphic tumor suppressor markers. Of the 16 cases of carcinoma in situ, three cases exhibited LOH at one locus. Of the 29 cases of invasive carcinomas, six cases exhibited LOH at two loci and nine cases exhibited LOH at one locus. Overall, LOH was found more frequently in invasive carcinomas than in in situ carcinomas. LOH was most frequently detected at the PTCH (Drosophila patched gene) locus. There was no significant correlation between LOH at a specific site and either histologic subtype or clinical stage. These results suggest that LOH might already occur in a fraction of preinvasive squamous lesions and that accumulation of LOH may in part play a role in carcinogenesis of the cervix.
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PMID:Loss of heterozygosity among tumor suppressor genes in invasive and in situ carcinoma of the uterine cervix. 1124 Jul 14

Bladder cancer is the most common urinary tumors in China. Carcinogenesis of bladder is a multistep process. Accumulation of abnormal genotypes in a long period leads to malignant phenotypes. The genes associated with bladder carcinogenesis include oncogenes (such as H-ras, FGFR3, erbB2, CCND1, mdm2), tumor suppressor genes (such as INK4A/ARF, Rb, TP53, PTEN, TSC1, PTCH, DBCCR1), and DNA mismatch repair genes, etc. In this review, the authors discussed the recent research advances on the genes associated with bladder carcinoma.
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PMID:[Research advances on bladder cancer associated genes]. 1256 47

Topics discussed here include PTEN mutations and colonic polyps; WNT signaling, APC, beta-catenin, and gastrointestinal neoplasms; mismatch-repair genes (MLH1, MSH2, PMS1, MSH6) and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer; MYH mutations and autosomal recessive colorectal tumors; STK11 mutations and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome; TGFbeta and gastrointestinal cancer; BMPR1A mutations and juvenile polyposis; FGF/FGFR alterations in gastrointestinal neoplasms; PTCH mutations and gastrointestinal neoplasms; RUNX3 expression and gastric cancer; role of mucins in gastric carcinogenesis; KIT, PDGFRalpha, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors; intestinal neurofibromatosis; and gastrointestinal tumors in other disorders.
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PMID:Molecular dimensions of gastrointestinal tumors: some thoughts for digestion. 1451 68

The UVB component of the solar spectrum induces DNA lesions that, in the absence of error-free DNA repair, may give rise during DNA replication to mutations in caretaker and gatekeeper genes. The DNA repair genes are the best candidates for caretaker genes as exemplified by the human hereditary xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) syndrome. Cultured XP cells are hypermutable after UVB irradiation. This increased mutation frequency is also found in gatekeeper genes, which govern signalling pathways implicated in the control of cellular proliferation, differentiation and survival of human epidermal keratinocytes. We describe and discuss the role of mutated gatekeeper genes in five specific signalling pathways which have been implicated in skin carcinogenesis. The pathways we focus on in this review are: (i) P16(INK4A)-CDK4/6-RB; (ii) P14(ARF)-HDM2-P53; (iii) Sonic hedgehog (SHH)/GLI; (iv) WNT/beta-catenin; and (v) Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)/SMAD. 70-80% of XP skin cancers exhibit one or several mutations in the P53, PTCH-1, SMO or CDKN2A genes, the type and frequency of mutated genes being different between squamous cell (SCCs) and basal cell carcinomas (BCCs). In XP cancers, the typically UVB-induced CC to TT tandem transitions represent approximately 60% of total mutations compared to 10-15% in skin tumours from DNA repair-proficient patients. Acquired activation of the pathways described herein can alter proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes, allowing a damaged cell to replicate and give rise to mutated daughter cells, then eventually to the development of the carcinogenic process following clonal selection.
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PMID:UVB-induced mutations in human key gatekeeper genes governing signalling pathways and consequences for skin tumourigenesis. 1452 Dec 17

Every living organism on the surface of the earth is exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) fraction of the sunlight. This electromagnetic energy has both life-giving and life-endangering effects. UV radiation can damage DNA and thus mutagenize several genes involved in the development of the skin cancer. The presence of typical signature of UV-induced mutations on these genes indicates that the ultraviolet-B part of sunlight is responsible for the evolution of cutaneous carcinogenesis. During this process, variable alterations of the oncogenic, tumor-suppressive, and cell-cycle control signaling pathways occur. These pathways include (a) mutated PTCH (in the mitogenic Sonic Hedgehog pathway) and mutated p53 tumor-suppressor gene in basal cell carcinomas, (b) an activated mitogenic ras pathway and mutated p53 in squamous cell carcinomas, and (c) an activated ras pathway, inactive p16, and p53 tumor suppressors in melanomas. This review presents background information about the skin optics, UV radiation, and molecular events involved in photocarcinogenesis.
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PMID:Ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer: molecular mechanisms. 1570 Oct 81

Epidemiological studies suggest that UV exposure from sunlight is the major etiology for skin cancers, both melanocytic and non-melanocytic. However, the radiation-related risk for skin cancer among atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is primarily derived from the excess risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), with no demonstrable excess in squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma. The BCCs in this cohort are therefore unusual in being potentially attributable to two types of radiation-UV and ionizing (IR). BCCs have been associated with PTCH and/or p53 tumor suppressor gene alterations. To investigate the roles of these genes in relation to IR and UV exposures, we analyzed both genes in BCC samples from atomic bomb survivors. We examined 47 tumors, of which 70% had non-silent base-substitution p53 mutations independent of IR or UV exposure. However, the distribution of mutation type depends on UV and/or IR exposure. For example, C-to-T transitions at CpG sites adjacent to pyrimidine-pyrimidine (PyPy) sequences were more prevalent in tumors from UV-exposed than UV-shielded body areas and CpG-mutations at non-PyPy sequences were more prevalent in tumors from UV-shielded body areas with high-IR (>or=1 Gy) than low-IR (<0.2 Gy) exposure. And notably, although p53 deletion-frequencies demonstrated no IR-dose associations, deletions at the PTCH locus were more frequent (79% versus 44%) in tumors with high-IR than low-IR exposure. Moreover, 60% of high-IR tumors harbored both p53 and PTCH abnormalities compared with 23% of low-IR tumors. Therefore, alteration of both genes is likely to play a role in radiation-induced basal cell carcinogenesis.
Carcinogenesis 2006 Nov
PMID:Molecular basis of basal cell carcinogenesis in the atomic-bomb survivor population: p53 and PTCH gene alterations. 1677 89

Tumors of the nervous system most often occur in both children and adults as sporadic events with no family history of the disease, but they are also among the clinical manifestations of a significant number of familial cancer syndromes, including familial retinoblastoma, neurofibromatosis 1 and 2, tuberous sclerosis, and Cowden, Turcot, Li-Fraumeni and nevoid basal cell carcinoma (Gorlin) syndromes. All of these syndromes involve transmissible genetic risk resulting from loss of a functional allele, or inheritance of a structurally defective allele, of a specific gene. These genes include RB1, NF1, NF2, TSC1, TSC2, TP53, PTEN, APC, hMLH1, hPSM2, and PTCH, most of which function as tumor suppressor genes. The same genes are also observed in mutated and inactive forms, or are deleted, in tumor cells in sporadic cases of the same tumors. The nature of the mutational events that give rise to these inactivated alleles suggests a possible role of environmental mutagens in their causation. However, only external ionizing radiation at high doses is clearly established as an environmental cause of brain, nerve and meningeal tumors in humans. Transplacental carcinogenesis studies in rodents and other species emphasize the extraordinary susceptibility of the developing mammalian nervous system to carcinogenesis, but the inverse relationship of latency to dose suggests that low transplacental exposures to genotoxicants are more likely to result in brain tumors late in life, rather than in childhood. While not all neurogenic tumor-related genes in humans have similar effects in experimental rodents, genetically engineered mice (GEM) increasingly provide useful insights into the combined effects of multiple tumor suppressor genes and of gene-environment interactions in the genesis of brain tumors, especially pediatric brain tumors such as medulloblastoma.
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PMID:Inducible and transmissible genetic events and pediatric tumors of the nervous system. 1701 46


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