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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Molecular Evolution of the Tre Recombinase
Published on: May 29, 2008
Genomic evolution of cancer models: perils and opportunities
Uri Ben-David1, Rameen Beroukhim2,3,4,5, Todd R Golub6,7,8,9
1Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. bendavid@broadinstitute.org.
Abstract:
Cancer research relies on model systems, which reflect the biology of actual human tumours to only a certain extent. One important feature of human cancer is its intra-tumour genomic heterogeneity and instability. However, the extent of such genomic instability in cancer models has received limited attention in research. Here, we review the state of knowledge of genomic instability of cancer models and discuss its biological origins and implications for basic research and for cancer precision medicine. We discuss strategies to cope with such genomic evolution and evaluate both the perils and the emerging opportunities associated with it.
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