Telomere dysfunction has been proposed as a key event that causes cancer progression. According to this model, progressive telomere shortening results in telomere dysfunction and end-to-end chromosomal fusions. The resulting dicentric chromosomes undergo cycles of breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) and lead to gross chromosomal rearrangements. At this stage, reactivation of telomerase prevents further telomere dysfunction and allows cancer cells to proliferate indefinitely.  Now, a study from researchers … Continue reading Researchers identify telomere-based mechanism which turns mutant cells into aggressive cancers.