NIH scientists resolve how chromosomal mix-ups lead to tumors

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A new study by scientists from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, resolves longstanding questions about the origin of recurrent chromosomal rearrangements — known as translocations — that drive lymphomas and leukemias in humans. Translocations occur when broken strands of DNA from one chromosome are erroneously joined with those of another chromosome, thus deregulating genetic information and leading to cell transformation.