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The sigmoidal curve of cancer

Nature Biotechnology volume 21, pages 13–14 (2003)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 01 February 2003

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A growing list of papers supports a role for aneuploidy in the genetic underpinning of malignant transformation2. Of particular significance is a paper published last year by the Duesberg group3 that comes very close to showing the existence of hitherto elusive, stage-specific chromosomal combinations (aneusomies). It does so by clearly demonstrating that particular aneusomies appear in nitrosomethylurea-transformed Chinese hamster cells in vitro, and in tumors derived from these cells in vivo, with a much higher frequency than would be expected based on random chromosome shuffling. For example, 79% of in vitro–transformed cells were trisomic for chromosome 3, and 59% were monosomic for chromosome 10; moreover, 52% of the transformed cells shared trisomy 3 and monosomy 10, much higher than the 0.6% expected if the aneusomies were the result of random chromosomal imbalances.

The initial interest of Duesberg and his collaborators in aneuploidy as a cause of the abnormal phenotypes characteristic of the cancer cell arose in part from observations that aneuploidy shows a nearly perfect correlation with neoplasia and malignancy, and that many of the most powerful carcinogens (for example, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are not mutagenic (genotoxic), as evaluated in vitro by any of the numerous variations of the Ames test3.

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Change history

  • 07 January 2003

    Full text has footnote, PDF has been appended with erratum (this text not included in erratum as is standard

Notes

  1. Note: Page 13, the text in the first paragraph of column 3 "that, the notion that the evolution of aneuploid malignant cells is chaotic…" is incorrect. The correct text is below: "that the evolution of aneuploid malignant cells is chaotic…"

    Nature Biotechnology regrets this error.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. research scientist at the Institute of Biotechnology, Autonomous National University of Mexico (IBT/UNAM), Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Roberto P. Stock

  2. resident scholar at IBT/UNAM, and the founding scientific editor of Nature Biotechnology,

    Harvey Bialy

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  1. Roberto P. Stock
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  2. Harvey Bialy
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Stock, R., Bialy, H. The sigmoidal curve of cancer. Nat Biotechnol 21, 13–14 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0103-13

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