This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on ISI (1)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Oncology  • Genetic Counseling/ Testing/ Therapy  • Alert me on articles by topic

Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2004;291:2301-2305.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Orlando—Before any perceptible signs of disease, even before a single tumor cell divides and starts a malignant cascade, the first event that leads to cancer is a change in gene expression. Scientists have discovered many cases in which mutations in the DNA sequence—such as point mutations or deletions—alter gene expression and set the stage for cancer.

But as scientists strive to decipher which genetic changes can make cells cancerous, they are also discovering that not all such changes involve mutations that alter the DNA sequence. Rather, some are a result of "epigenetic" modifications, heritable changes in gene function that occur without any mutation in gene sequence.

At the annual American Association for Cancer Research Conference in Orlando in late March, experts spoke of ongoing investigations into the epigenetic aspects of cancer development and how this field might contribute to the detection and treatment of cancer.

MUTED . . . [Full Text of this Article]