This relative mechanistic simplicity is cause for hope that we may eventually be able to prevent or cure many cancers. DNA is the genetic material that contains the blueprints for the construction and function of cells, organs, and organisms. Electrical interactions between paired nucleotides on opposing strands hold together the DNA helix. The sequence of nucleotides in the DNA encodes the genetic information that is used to direct the proteins from which the cell is made, and through which its functions are regulated and controlled. The products of some genes act on the DNA itself, thereby regulating and controlling the expression of other genes.
Malignant transformation is rooted in harmful changes of cellular DNA, known as mutations.
These mutations alter the information carried by genes, the protein products of which are involved in the regulation of cell growth, division, or differentiation. A single oncogene typically induces only partial transformation to malignancy. Full progression to cancer ordinarily requires the interaction of several gene mutations. This conversion appears to take place stepwise, through discrete events. Malignant transformation may occur through a series of mutations which convert proto-oncogenes to oncogenes.