European experts in the field of genomics investigated a novel genetic mechanism that leads to cancer development.
According to the well-established model of carcinogenesis, a gradual acquisition of genomic rearrangements and somatic mutations over time is required for cancer onset. Recent evidence challenges this model and indicates that it is possible to have tens to hundreds of chromosomal rearrangements take place in a single event. This phenomenon is known as chromothripsis but the molecular mechanisms that support it are currently unclear.
Further details: Cancer: the result of a genomic ‘big bang’?