Objectives: To review cancer biology and associated genetic change.
Data sources: Professional journals, texts, monographs, and Internet websites.
Conclusion: Several types of genetic damage occur in cancer cells: activation of protooncogenes into oncogenes that give cells an abnormal growth advantage; inactivation of tumor suppressor genes that would normally slow or stop abnormal cell growth; the bypass of genes that cause aberrant cells to die by apoptosis; the ability to establish vasculature, and the ability to override genes that regulate cell senescence. The end result of accumulated genetic errors is cells that can reproduce without restriction, invade local tissues, and ultimately, establish distant metastases.
Implications for nursing practice: Identification of the genetic changes in cancer cells and of the proteins that these changes affect promises to provide diagnostic and prognostic markers as well as molecular targets for therapeutic intervention. It is critical that nurses have a basic understanding of cell biology and genetics so they may better comprehend the unfolding changes in medicine to best serve patients and families.