The genetic basis of colorectal cancer: insights into critical pathways of tumorigenesis.

The impact that modern molecular biology has had on elucidating the genetic basis of neoplasia is best illustrated by the paradigm of colon cancer. Several unique features of colon cancer biology have served to accelerate the discovery process. The development of a readily evident precursor lesion, the adenomatous polyp, has made it possible to construct a model of the sequential genetic events in cancer initiation and progression. Insights into the molecular basis of the relatively rare inherited syndromes familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) have had profound implications for tumorigenesis in the more widespread sporadic forms of colon cancer.

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