The 2-hit hypothesis of cancer was based on retinoblastoma, the first example of a tumor suppressor mutation.
A report and a case published in two major medical journals this week suggest that relatives of certain people with cancer may be at higher risk, due to inherited (germline) mutations in DNA repair genes.
Only 5 to 10 percent of cancers are inherited. Such individuals inherit a cancer-predisposing mutation in all their cells, and then a somatic (body) cell undergoes a second mutation that initiates the disease. The second mutation may be spontaneous or in response to an environmental factor such as smoking.
The one-two punch of inherited cancers, called the 2-hit hypothesis, was first described in 1971. Read More
Only 5 to 10 percent of cancers are inherited. Such individuals inherit a cancer-predisposing mutation in all their cells, and then a somatic (body) cell undergoes a second mutation that initiates the disease. The second mutation may be spontaneous or in response to an environmental factor such as smoking.
The one-two punch of inherited cancers, called the 2-hit hypothesis, was first described in 1971. Read More