RT Book, Section A1 Aplan, Peter D. A1 Plon, Sharon E. A2 Kline, Mark W. SR Print(0) ID 1182910801 T1 Cancer Genetics and Biology T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e YR 2018 FD 2018 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259588594 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182910801 RD 2024/11/02 AB The statement “cancer is a genetic disease” is true from 2 overlapping perspectives. First, analysis of the genome of a cancer cell almost always reveals specific acquired changes (point mutations, rearrangements, or amplifications) that play a fundamental role in transforming a normal cell into a cancer cell. As described in this chapter, knowledge of these changes has substantially improved our ability to treat and often cure childhood cancer. Second, in approximately 10% of childhood cancer patients, the child was born with a genetic change that substantially increased the risk of cancer developing. Identifying these at-risk children and families allows us to implement cancer surveillance at an early age in an attempt to identify the cancer at a stage that is more curable and where therapy may be less toxic. In some rare, particularly high-risk conditions, prophylactic surgery may be recommended to prevent cancer from developing.