GENETIC FACTORS OF CANCER AND THEIR ANALYSIS

This article provides a comprehensive exploration of the genetic factors driving cancer development and the advanced methodologies employed to analyze them. It delves into the roles of germline and somatic mutations, epigenetic modifications, and their interactions with the tumor microenvironment in oncogenesis. Germline mutations, such as those in BRCA1/2 and mismatch repair genes, confer hereditary cancer risk, while somatic mutations in oncogenes (e.g., KRAS, EGFR) and tumor suppressor genes (e.g., TP53, PTEN) drive tumor progression. The article highlights the distinction between driver and passenger mutations and the complexity introduced by tumor heterogeneity and epigenetic alterations like DNA methylation and non-coding RNA dysregulation.