Chromosomal abnormalities in cancer

Cancer is caused by genetic alterations that disrupt the normal balance among cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. The examples described here illustrate that many of these alterations are mediated by genetic changes associated with chromosomal abnormalities. Of particular importance for the treatment of cancer, many of the most specific drug targets, such as ABL1, ERBB2, and EGFR, undergo genetic changes that conventional cytogenetic methods or modern genomic techniques can detect. Therefore, the analysis of chromosomal abnormalities can be used to identify the subpopulation of patients who are most likely to benefit from a particular drug treatment. However, the strategy of gene-targeted therapy has thus far had limited application, because only a fraction of the genetic lesions that are responsible for cancer development have been identified. The hope is that continued improvements in genomic techniques, providing ever-increasing resolution, will lead to the identification of additional genetic changes that can be exploited to design better therapeutic strategies. Copyright © 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society.