The Department of Cancer Genetics, through the investigation of the various mechanisms that cells adopt to become cancer cells, is dedicated to improving our understanding of mechanisms and pathways through which cells overcome their normal constraints on proliferation and differentiation and transform into tumor cells. By identifying genes and pathways that contribute to tumorigenesis and understanding mechanisms involved in cell cycle control, it is anticipated that this information will not only improve our understanding of the fundamental events that give rise to cancer but will also lead to the identification of novel targets for therapeutic intervention and provide biomarkers for the better diagnosis, staging and risk assessment for individual cancer patients. A better understanding of mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis will provide the opportunity to manipulate these pathways in animal models and will also contribute to a fundamental understanding of cancer and potentially generate the opportunity to test new treatment regimens in vivo.

The department currently consists of nine principal investigators and houses the two microarray core facilities using oligonucleotide and cDNA arrays to study global genetic changes during the development of disease. Currently, research in the Department of Cancer Genetics brings together experts who are investigating the genetic events that give rise to cancer in a variety of different tissue systems. It is organized around two specific themes: cancer genes and mechanisms of tumorigenesis and DNA replication.

Laboratories studying specific genes and mechanisms associated with the development and progression of the malignant phenotype employ a variety of methodologies that will (1) identify and isolate novel genes that are important in the development of specific cancers, (2) apply our knowledge of human oncogenes to the clinical management of cancer patients, (3) investigate epigenetic mechanisms that affect gene function and (4) use genomics approaches to study global genetic changes in cancer cells and exploit naturally occurring genetic variation to study cancer predisposition and progression.

Laboratories with a research focus on DNA replication are studying the regulation of initiation of DNA replication and how this process is disregulated in cancer cells. The emphasis of several studies is on checkpoint pathways that inhibit initiation of DNA replication in response to DNA damage.These studies include the use of the oncogenic Epstein-Barr Virus and budding and fission yeast as model organisms.Some of these laboratories also are exploring the possibility that antibodies against proteins required for initiation of DNA replication might effectively distinguish tumor cells from normal cells and thus provide new, more effective diagnostic and prognostic tools for treating cancer.