Selection, the mutation rate and cancer: Ensuring that the tail does not wag the dog
Ian Tomlinson1
& Walter Bodmer2
1
Molecular and Population Genetics Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 44, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, UK
2
Cancer and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DZ, UK
In considering tumorigenesis, much attention is paid to genome instability and mutation rates. While reflecting on the circumstances that have led to this emphasis on mutation rates, Ian Tomlinson and Walter Bodmer point out that an increased mutation rate does not necessarily cause a tumor to grow and that selection is in fact the mechanism that drives the cellular, somatic evolution that leads to cancer.
