Whole-chromosomal instability (W-CIN) - unequal chromosome distribution during cell division - is a characteristic feature of a majority of cancer cells distinguishing them from their normal counterparts. The precise molecular mechanisms that may cause mis-segregation of chromosomes in tumor cells just recently became more evident. The consequences of W-CIN are numerous and play a critical role...

Early diagnosis gives melanoma patients the best chance for long term survival. However discrimination of an early melanoma from an unusual/atypical benign nevus can represent a significant challenge. There are no current pathological markers to definitively define malignant potential in these indeterminate lesions. Thus, there is a need for improved diagnostic tools. Chromosomal instability (C...

Chromosomal instability (CIN)-which is a high rate of loss or gain of whole or parts of chromosomes-is a characteristic of most human cancers and a cause of tumour aneuploidy and intra-tumour heterogeneity. CIN is associated with poor patient outcome and drug resistance, which could be mediated by evolutionary adaptation fostered by intra-tumour heterogeneity. In this review, we discuss the cli...

Although chromosomal instability characterizes the majority of human colorectal cancers, the contribution of genes such as adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), KRAS, and p53 to this form of genetic instability is still under debate. Here, we have assessed chromosomal imbalances in tumors from mouse models of intestinal cancer, namely Apc(+/1638N), Apc(+/1638N)/KRAS(V12G), and Apc(+/1638N)/Tp53-/-,...

We report the observation of modulational instability (MI) of a partially spatially incoherent beam induced by seeding noise through cross-phase modulation. We show experimentally that a threshold exists for such induced incoherent MI to occur that depends on the degree of spatial coherence as well as on the strength of the nonlinearity. Above threshold, the induced MI leads to the formation of...

The regulation of centrosome number is lost in many tumors and the presence of extra centrosomes correlates with chromosomal instability. Recent work now reveals how extra centrosomes cause chromosome mis-segregation in tumor cells.

Chromosomal instability is a hallmark of many tumor types. Complex chromosomal rearrangements with associated gene amplification, known as complicons, characterize many hematologic and solid cancers. Whereas chromosomal aberrations, including complicons, are useful diagnostic and prognostic cancer markers, their molecular origins are not known. Although accumulating evidence has implicated DNA ...