Genomic instability is an ongoing process
Genomic instability is a characteristic of most cancer cells. It is an increased tendency of genome alterations resulting in the dismantling of multiple controlling systems culminating in uncontrolled cell division.
It is known that genomic integrity is closely monitored by several surveillance mechanisms, DNA damage checkpoint, DNA repair machinery and mitotic checkpoint. Epigenetic modifications such as posttranslational modifications of the histone tails and DNA methylation status are also very important mechanisms to maintain genomic integrity.
A defect in the regulation of any of these mechanisms often results in genomic instability, which predisposes the cell to malignant transformation.
Genomic instability is an ongoing process and is involved in the initiation of cancer, disease progression and metastatic spread, and it confers poor prognosis to cancer patients.