One or more extra or missing chromosomes can both fuel tumor growth and act to suppress tumor growth, according to University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine researchers. Heralded as a discovery that solves a 100-year-old genetic puzzle because the hypothesis was first suggested by German biologist Theodor Bover that long ago, researchers sought to determine if the wrong number of chromosomes contributed to tumor growth, or was a consequences of damage in cancerous cells.
While studying aneuploidy -- which is what the occurrence of one or more extra or missing chromosomes is called -- in mouse models, the researchers found that the same genetic mechanism that promotes tumor growth can slow tumor growth.
"This study opens up a whole series of potential therapeutic targets for cancer," said Beth A.A. Weaver, of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, the study's first author. "By increasing the level of genetic damage, we can kill tumor cells."
