Oncology

Excerpt

Few individuals have had as much influence on our thinking about human heredity and development as the Austrian monk, Gregor Mendel. When we teach medical genetics, we are in effect updating Mendel's principles. According to Mendel, for autosomal genes, a gene is a gene is a gene; that is, all copies of a given gene are expressed equally. Although most of our observations regarding patterns of inheritance follow the principles of mendelian genetics, there is a growing list of discrete areas where observation diverges from expectation, ie, nonmendelian genetics come into play. With the advent of sophisticated molecular technology, we can dissect the origins and patterns of transmission of specific genes, adding an unprecedented dimension to our understanding of disease inheritance and the factors that determine net genomic expression. This may have special relevance for understanding the development of cancer, many forms which are not inherited in a straightforward manner