Distribution of cancer genes in human chromosomes.

We increasingly recognize the importance of alterations in DNA in the development of cancer. Beginning with the first somatic mutation identified in a urinary bladder carcinoma cell line, recombinant-DNA technology has led to an explosion of this field, bringing a wealth of data, yet to be fully analyzed. As the number of putative cancer genes has grown several groups have compiled lists of cancer genes with the Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer, list as one of several highly regarded. With an interest in the distribution of cancer genes in human chromosomes and discerning whether some chromosomes predominated in cancer gene content, we undertook this review of their distribution in the modern-day human genome. We conclude that cancer genes are uniformly distributed across all human chromosomes having been accreted to the evolving human genome likely in a random fashion over the millennia.