Cancer epidemiology: from the description to molecular biology

Study of the etiology of malignant diseases has been and must remain at the forefront of research if a coherent and effective policy of prevention is to be adopted. In the 1980s, studies in cellular and animal models provided evidence that cellular transformation occurs through the establishment of stable mutations in the genes involved in regulation of cell growth. Cell t ransformation can be described as a darwinian mechanism with the mutation a nd selection of cells with increasing malignancy. One of the important adva nces in more recent years has been the discovery:that many cancer are assoc iated with specific genes, and the elucidation of the genetic events (somat ics or germinals) which alter the function of these genes. Furthermore, the high degree of polymophism of the human genome indicates that the individu al suscpetibility to develop a cancer is a very heterogenous concept that w ill be difficult to eveluate.