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Conclusions
• Cancer is caused by a series (~5-10) of changes in the
genome
– Additional ~10
3
passenger genetic alterations
• The changes which occur can be classified, giving rise
to 6 essential acquired properties, 2 emerging
properties and 2 enabling properties
• The hallmarks of cancer can be arrived at by many
different genetic routes
– As a result tumors are very heterogeneous. For each
‘
type
’
of
cancer there are several genetic routes
• These hallmarks (and accompanying genetic
alterations) affect treatment and radiation sensitivity in
complex ways.
– Understanding the molecular basis of cancer is important to
understand radiation responses