Landscaping the Cancer Terrain

作者：Kenneth W. Kinzler, Bert Vogelstein · 发表于：Science · 年份：1998 · DOI：10.1126/science.280.5366.1036 · 被引用次数：515 · 研究领域：Genetic factors in colorectal cancer、Colorectal Cancer Treatments and Studies、Colorectal Cancer Screening and Detection

Colorectal cancer can arise as a result of spontaneous genetic lesions or an inherited defect. In this issue, Howe et al . report that the gene defective in one of the inherited syndromes is SMAD4 , a member of a key signal transduction pathway. In their commentary, Kinzler and Vogelstein add this gene to a classification scheme for colorectal cancers that groups the offending genes as gatekeepers, caretakers, or landscapers. Landscaping genes such as SMAD4 have an indirect effect on the tissue that will eventually become cancerous and create an abnormal microenvironment for the cells, probably by acting in the adjacent stromal cells.