Human Cancer Genetics, Stem Cells, and Medical Molecular Biology: An Epigrammatic Review

Atif Abdulwahab A. Oyouni

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Corresponding Author E-mail: a.oyouni@ut.edu.sa

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2521

ABSTRACT: Cancer is a relatively common disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Although cancer itself has been highly researched, discovering a cure for cancer remains a challenge, primarily because the causes of this disease are not entirely understood. It can arise from mutations and epigenetic alterations that go on to activate oncogenes and inactivate tumour suppressor genes. The cells that drive cancer formation proliferate in an uncontrolled manner and originate from various pathways, which have been highlighted in this review. Briefly, cancer stem cells can arise from three different scenarios: a) a stem cell undergoes mutation, b) the progenitor cell undergoes several mutations and c) an already differentiated cell re-differentiates due to mutation to drive it back to a stem cell-like state.

KEYWORDS: Cancer; Genetics; Molecular biology Stem cell;

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