Molecular Tools in Cancer Research
Summary of Key Points
• Our understanding and treatment of cancer have always relied heavily on parallel developments in biological research. Molecular biology provides the basic tools to study genes involved with cancer growth patterns and tumor suppression. An advanced understanding of the molecular processes governing cell growth and differentiation has revolutionized the diagnosis and prognosis of malignant disorders.
• This introductory chapter relates basic principles of molecular biology to emerging perspectives on the origin and progression of cancer and explains newly developed laboratory techniques, including whole genome analysis, expression profiling, and refined genetic manipulation in animal models, thus providing the conceptual and technical background necessary to grasp the central principles and new methods of current cancer research.
1. It would be most appropriate to use which technique to study and identify cancer mechanisms that display different levels of alternative spliced messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNAs)?
2. The allelic variance in the form of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) encountered in the human population can be used in cancer biology because
A they mark variability in the coding sequence that leads to diseased phenotypes and cancer prognosis.
B they provide integration of individual characteristics and disease.
C they allow identification of specific allelic combinations that can be associated with disease.
