Genetic instability in colorectal cancers

It has long been considered that genetic instability is an integral component of human neoplasia 1–3 . In a small fraction of tumours, mismatch repair deficiency leads to a microsatellite instability at the nucleotide sequence level 4,5 . In other tumours, an abnormal chromosome number (aneuploidy)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1997-04, Vol.386 (6625), p.623-627
Main Authors: Lengauer, C, Kinzler, K. W, Vogelstein, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aneuploidy
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Fusion
Cell Survival
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal Neoplasms - genetics
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Genes, Tumor Suppressor
Genetics
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
letter
Medical research
Medical sciences
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus
Tumor Cells, Cultured
Tumors
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Summary:It has long been considered that genetic instability is an integral component of human neoplasia 1–3 . In a small fraction of tumours, mismatch repair deficiency leads to a microsatellite instability at the nucleotide sequence level 4,5 . In other tumours, an abnormal chromosome number (aneuploidy) has suggested an instability, but the nature and magnitude of the postulated instability is a matter of conjecture. We show here that colorectal tumours without microsatellite instability exhibit a striking defect in chromosome segregation, resulting in gains or losses in excess of 10 –2 per chromosome per generation. This form of chromosomal instability reflected a continuing cellular defect that persisted throughout the lifetime of the tumour cell and was not simply related to chromosome number. While microsatellite instability is a recessive trait 6,7 , chromosomal instability appeared to be dominant. These data indicate that persistent genetic instability may be critical for the development of all colorectal cancers, and that such instability can arise through two distinct pathways.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/386623a0