Genetic Changes Of Tumor Suppresssor Genes In Tumorigenesis And Metastasis Of Gastric Cancer

Molecular genetic studies have confirmed that tumor is genetic disease. The malignant transformation of a normal cell is the accumulation of multiple gene alterations, mainly composed of activtion of oncogenes and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Significant differences exist among tumors from different organs alothough they share some common genetic changes.Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies , and is responsible for about 180000 deaths per annum in China. 23% of death from malignancies. Activation of oncogenes in gastric cancer has been intensely investigated. There are few reports, however, on tumor suppressor genes except p53, in the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer. Three newly identified genes namely DCC (deleted in col-orectal carcinoma), APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) and MCC (mutated in colorectal carcinoma) were recognized in the past few years to act as tumor suppressor in the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer. Abnormalities of these genes occur in the early stage of colorectal tumor. It has been found in recent one to three years that loss of heterozygosity and loss of expression in DCC gene are also present in esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostatic cancer as well as glioma; mutation and/or loss of heterozygosity exist in...