Cellular Senescence and Cancer
- J.C. Barrett,
- L.A. Annab,
- D. Alcorta,
- G. Preston,
- P. Vojta, and
- Y. Yin
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
Homeostasis in normal tissues is maintained by a balance between cell proliferation and cell death, whereas tumor growth occurs when the cellular birth rate exceeds the death rate. This can be achieved by either increasing the proliferative rate of cells, decreasing the death rate, or both (Boyd and Barrett 1990). Both positive and negative growth controls are involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and cell death. Tumor suppressor genes act to negatively regulate tumor growth either by reversibly blocking cell division or by increasing cell death or terminal arrest. Reversible controls on cell growth are important in the processes of normal development and tissue homeostasis, and in pathological conditions such as neoplasia. The majority of stem cells or basal cells in a tissue are growth arrested in a reversible state, and alterations in this growth arrest mechanism may be common in neoplastic cells. Terminal growth arrest and cell death...
