Genetics and Molecular Medicine Terms

A series of actions among molecules in a cell that leads to a certain end point or cell function.

In cancer treatment, substances that kill cancer cells by targeting key molecules involved in cancer cell growth.

Measuring how much of it a cell holds is the standard way to judge whether a particular gene is switched on or off.

MSI marks a defect in a cell's DNA repair machinery, seen as changes in short repeated DNA sequences, most notably in colorectal and endometrial tumors.

A rare, inherited disorder that affects the endocrine glands and can cause tumors in the parathyroid and pituitary glands and the pancreas.

A rare, inherited disorder that affects the endocrine glands and can cause tumors in the parathyroid and pituitary glands and the pancreas.

An inherited disorder marked by the formation of many noncancerous growths called hamartomas.

A mutagen is any physical or chemical agent capable of altering a cell's DNA, with ultraviolet light and certain chemicals among the most familiar examples.

To change the genetic material of a cell.

Any change in the DNA of a cell.

A person who has a mutated (changed) copy of a gene.

A test result that does not show the specific disease, condition, or biomarker for which the test is being done.

A rare genetic condition that causes brown spots and tumors on the skin, freckling in skin areas not exposed to the sun, tumors on the nerves, and developmental changes in the nervous system…

A genetic condition in which tumors form on the nerves of the inner ear and cause loss of hearing and balance.

Order is everything: the same few units in a different sequence spell a different protein, or a disease causing mutation.

Keeping DNA behind a membrane is what separates human cells from bacteria, and it lets the cell control which genes are read.

An oncogene is a mutated gene, derived from a normal growth regulating gene, that drives uncontrolled cell division seen in cancer.

A group of genetic disorders in which there is an abnormal increase in the size of the body or a body part that is often noted at birth.

A substance that blocks the process cells use to repair DNA.

A tumor suppressor gene that normally inhibits the growth of tumors.