Seminar

LKB1 and BRG1, Tale of Two Tumor Suppressor Genes on Chromosome 19P and Human Lung Cancer

MONTSE SANCHEZ-CESPEDES, PhD

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with over one million cases annually. In addition to preventing uptake and encouraging cessation of the smoking habit, it is important to invest in understanding the biology of this type of cancer. Several gene alterations contribute to the development of lung cancer, including activating mutations, gene translocation and gene amplification at oncogenes as well as inactivating point mutations, homozygous deletions or promoter hypermethylation at tumor suppressor genes. Losses of heterozygosity (LOH) at chromosome 19p are frequent in lung cancer, suggesting that one or more tumor suppressor genes are contained in this region.