Cancer as a developmental disease

Tissues in our bodies are constantly being renewed by growth and differentiation.  Progress in understanding the gene regulatory networks that control normal development and tissue maintenance, has revealed that when mutated, these networks can be subverted and lead to cancer.  For example, mutations that eliminate a particular checkpoint in a complex network can result in a system that is stuck in the “on” position.  Several investigators are pursing an understanding of the mechanisms of cancer from the perspective of cancer as a dysfunctional developmental regulatory network.

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