9: The Genetics of Cancer
- Page ID
- 147382
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It is almost certain that you or someone you know has been affected by cancer. About 20% of males and 17% of females will get cancer at some point in their lives; 13% and 9% respectively will die from it.
Why talk about cancer in a genetics course? Isn't this more properly covered in a cell biology course? Well yes, many cell biology courses spend some time talking about cancer -- but cancer is essentially a genetic disease:
- Cancer is caused by random mutations
- Susceptibility to cancer can be inherited, either in a Mendelian pattern or as a complex (threshold) trait
- Massive changes to genome structure are one of the hallmarks of cancer
- Cancer cells grow, develop, and evolve due to selective pressure
- A cancer's genotype can be used to customize cancer therapy
This chapter will summarize our modern understanding of cancer through the lens of genetics: mutations, heritability, selection, and genetic testing to guide treatment.
By mastering the material in this chapter, you should be able to:
- Summarize the hallmarks of cancer
- Describe how cancer arises and justify the assertion that "every cancer is a unique disease."
- Distinguish between tumor suppressors and (proto)oncogenes
- Describe how cancer susceptibility can be inherited
- Justify cancer susceptibility's classification as a complex (threshold) trait
- Rationalize genetic testing to guide cancer treatment

