[Cancer genetics of TSC2 gene mutant(Eker) rat model]

Cancer is a heritable disorder of somatic cells. Environment and heredity both operate in the origin of human cancer. Hereditary cancers have been important in the understanding of carcinogenesis, and have pointed to the first tumor suppressor genes. Such a hereditary cancer was described in the rat by Reidar Eker in 1954. The Eker rat model of hereditary renal carcinoma is an example of a Mendelian dominantly inherited predisposition to a specific cancer in an experimental animal. We identified a germline mutation in the rat homologous to the human tuberous sclerosis gene (TSC2) as the predisposing Eker gene. The Eker rat provides a valuable experimental model for understanding the mechanisms of disease, and the development of the therapeutic treatments.