[Molecular biological characteristics of cancer]

The review presents the main and additional features that distinguish tumor cells from normal tissue cells. They include sustained proliferative signaling, evasion from growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, angiogenesis induction, and invasion and metastasis activation. Basis for the formation of these features is provided by tumor genome instability. Tumors are complex tissues that consist of different cell types interacting with each other as well as with normal cells. An important characteristic of tumor cells is the ability to interact with the tumor microenvironment and the formation of tumor stroma.