Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Long-term Live-cell Imaging to Assess Cell Fate in Response to Paclitaxel
Published on: May 14, 2018
Genomic instability: on the birth and death of cancer
M Murga1, O Fernández-Capetillo
1Genomic Instability Group, Molecular Oncology Programme, Spanish National Cancer Center (CNIO), Madrid, Spain. mmurga@cnio.es
Abstract:
The presence of an abnormal chromosomal content is probably the most universally conserved hallmark of cancer cells. Predicted at the beginning of the 20th century as the origin of tumours, and extensively documented thereafter, genomic instability lies at the core of neoplastic development. Regardless of this classic model, the actual impact that deficient control of genomic integrity has on human health and particularly on cancer development only started to gain attention from the scientific community two decades ago. From a bird's eye view and with a cancer-oriented perspective, in this work we will try to cover some of the concepts obtained from recent research in genomic instability. The review will end up presenting suggestive evidence which proposes that genomic instability might turn out to be not just the driving force but also the Achilles' heel of cancer.
Related Concept Videos
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancer
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...

