Journal
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY
Volume 95, Issue 4, Pages 225-231Publisher
FINNISH SURGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1177/145749690609500403
Keywords
gastric cancer; molecular pathology; cell cycle regulator; angiogenic factor; genetic instability; epigenetics; serial analysis of gene expression
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Gastric carcinogenesis is a multistep process, during which numerous genetic and epigenetic alterations accumulate: there are abnormalities of growth factors/receptors, angiogenic factors, cell cycle regulators, DNA mismatch repair genes etc. These abnormalities define, at the same time, the biological character of the cancer cell and may thus serve as therapeutic targets. Genetic instability may cause accumulation of genetic abnormalities. The most important epigenetic alterations are DNA methylation, histone modification and chromatin remodeling. Some of these changes are common in gastric cancer, regardless of subtype, and some differ by histological type or (gastric or intestinal) mucin phenotype. Genetic polymorphism is a crucial endogenous cause and fundamental aspect of cancer risk. Importantly, genetic polymorphisms are also associated with the therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of anti-cancer drugs. Genomic science and technology such as Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) allows the identification of novel genes and molecules specifically up-regulated or down-regulated in gastric cancer, e.g., RegIV and claudin-18 can be identified. Advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular bases lead to improved diagnosis, personalised medicine and prevention of gastric cancer.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available