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Intragenomic conflict and cancer
K Summers1, J da Silva, M Farwell
1Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. summersk@mail.ecu.edu
Medical Hypotheses
|September 5, 2002
Abstract:
Intragenomic conflict occurs when some elements within the genome produce effects that enhance their own probability of replication or transmission at the expense of other elements within the same genome. Here it is proposed that mutations involved in intragenomic conflict are particularly likely to be co-opted by evolving lineages of cancer cells, and hence should be associated with the occurrence of cancer. We discuss several types of intragenomic conflict that are associated with various forms of cancer.