Explore the past, present, and future of cancer cytogenetics In Abnormal Chromosomes: The Past, Present, and Future of Cancer Cytogenetics, globally renowned researchers Drs. Sverre Heim and Felix Mitelman deliver a state-of-the-art review of how cancer cytogenetic analyses have contributed to an improved understanding of tumorigenesis as well as to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The book also discusses how cytogenetics - the study of chromosomes - meets, interacts with, and cross-fertilizes other investigative technologies, including molecular somatic cell genetics. The book provides an impetus to think more deeply about the role chromosomes, and their abnormalities, play in health and disease, especially in neoplastic disorders. From which origins did cytogenetics develop? How did the finding of acquired chromosomal abnormalities in cells of leukemias and solid tumors influence our understanding of cancer as a biological process? How was information of this nature put to good use in the clinical management of cancer patients? Abnormal Chromosomes: The Past, Present, and Future of Cancer Cytogenetics offers readers: A thorough introduction to ancient theories of disease, the advent of cellular pathology, and how a scientific interest in chromosomes developed Comprehensive exploration of the conceptual importance of Theodor Boveri and his somatic mutation theory of cancer A detailed chronological resume of cancer cytogenetic discoveries during the 20th century In-depth discussions of the role of chromosome abnormalities, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes in leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors, together with a survey of what chromosome analyses have revealed about the clonal evolution of neoplastic cell populations A discussion of the importance of pathogenetic classifications of neoplastic diseases, the role chromosome abnormalities play in this context, and which technological breakthroughs can be expected in chromosome-oriented cancer research Abnormal Chromosomes: The Past, Present, and Future of Cancer Cytogenetics was written for everyone with a scientific or clinical interest in cancer, especially how acquired chromosome abnormalities lead to neoplastic transformation. The book teaches how cytogenetic analyses contribute to a better understanding of tumorigenesis, but also how the finding of specific chromosome aberrations can be crucial for the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of cancer patients.

The first three editions of this acclaimed book presented a much-needed conceptual synthesis of this rapidly moving field. Now, Cancer Cytogenetics, Fourth Edition, offers a comprehensive, expanded, and up-to-date review of recent dramatic advances in this area, incorporating a vast amount of new data from the latest basic and clinical investigations. * New contributors reflecting broader international authorship and even greater expertise * Greater emphasis throughout on the clinical importance and application of information about cytogenetic and molecular aberrations * Includes a complete coverage of chromosome aberrations in cancer based on an assessment of the 60,000 neoplasms cytogenetically investigated to date * Now produced in full color for enhanced clarity * Covers how molecular genetic data (PCR-based and sequencing information) are collated with the cytogenetic data where pertinent * Discusses how molecular cytogenetic data (based on studies using FISH, CGH, SNP, etc) are fused with karyotyping data to enable an as comprehensive understanding of cancer cytogenetics as is currently possible