Explore the past, present, and future of cancer cytogenetics
In Abnormal Chromosomes: The Past, Present, and Future of Cancer Cytogenetics, globally renowned researchers Drs. Sverre Heim and Felix Mitelman deliver a state-of-the-art review of how cancer cytogenetic analyses have contributed to an improved understanding of tumorigenesis as well as to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The book also discusses how cytogenetics – the study of chromosomes - meets, interacts with, and cross-fertilizes other investigative technologies, including molecular somatic cell genetics.
The book provides an impetus to think more deeply about the role chromosomes, and their abnormalities, play in health and disease, especially in neoplastic disorders. From which origins did cytogenetics develop? How did the finding of acquired chromosomal abnormalities in cells of leukemias and solid tumors influence our understanding of cancer as a biological process? How was information of this nature put to good use in the clinical management of cancer patients?
Abnormal Chromosomes: The Past, Present, and Future of Cancer Cytogenetics offers readers:
A thorough introduction to ancient theories of disease, the advent of cellular pathology, and how a scientific interest in chromosomes developed Comprehensive exploration of the conceptual importance of Theodor Boveri and his somatic mutation theory of cancer A detailed chronological resume of cancer cytogenetic discoveries during the 20th century In-depth discussions of the role of chromosome abnormalities, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes in leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors, together with a survey of what chromosome analyses have revealed about the clonal evolution of neoplastic cell populations A discussion of the importance of pathogenetic classifications of neoplastic diseases, the role chromosome abnormalities play in this context, and which technological breakthroughs can be expected in chromosome-oriented cancer research
Abnormal Chromosomes: The Past, Present, and Future of Cancer Cytogenetics was written for everyone with a scientific or clinical interest in cancer, especially how acquired chromosome abnormalities lead to neoplastic transformation. The book teaches how cytogenetic analyses contribute to a better understanding of tumorigenesis, but also how the finding of specific chromosome aberrations can be crucial for the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of cancer patients.
Preface vii Part I Past 1 Chapter 1 Understanding Disease: Ancient Theories 3 Chapter 2 The Advent of Cellular Pathology 7 Chapter 3 The Colored Bodies of Cell Nuclei: Chromosomes and Heredity 15 Chapter 4 Boveri and the Somatic Mutation Theory of Cancer 23 Chapter 5 Cytogenetics from 1914 to 1960: Slow Progress Followed by Serendipitous Methodological Breakthroughs Leading to Important Discoveries 29 Chapter 6 The First Cancer-Specific Chromosome Aberrations: Ph1 and Others 41 Part II Present 57 Chapter 7 The Banding Revolution: Cancer Cytogenetics in the 1970s 59 Chapter 8 Chasing Correlations: Chromosomes and Oncogenes in Leukemias and Lymphomas 75 Chapter 9 Solid Tumor Cytogenetics 87 Chapter 10 Gains, Losses, and Rearrangements of Genomic Material: Pathogenetic Considerations 105 Chapter 11 Morphology Meets Chemistry: Integration of Molecular Genetics into the Cytogenetic Search for Cancer-Specific Chromosome Aberrations 117 Chapter 12 Unraveling the Clonal Evolution of Neoplastic Cell Populations 125 Chapter 13 Clinical Usefulness 137 Part III Future 149 Chapter 14 Toward a Pathogenetic Classification of Cancer 151 Chapter 15 Where There is Structure, There is Function 161 Chapter 16 Which Resolution Level is Optimally Suited to Answer Which Questions? Seeing Never Goes Out of Fashion . . . 169 Chapter 17 Are New Technical Breakthroughs on the Horizon? 179 Afterthoughts 189 Index 195
Sverre Heim has over thirty years' experience in the field of cancer cytogenetics. He has used chromosomal markers to trace the clonal relationships among neoplastic cell populations and determined their patterns of evolution. He has served on editorial boards and scientific advisory committees and authored nearly 500 scientific publications. Felix Mitelman is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer.
