Chromosomal rearrangements in cancer: Detection and potential causal mechanisms

Many cancers exhibit chromosomal rearrangements. These rearrangements can be simple, involving a single balanced fusion that preserves the proper complement of genetic information, or complex with one or more fusions that disrupt this balance. Recent technological advances have improved our ability to detect and understand these rearrangements, leading to speculation about potential causal mechanisms such as defective DNA double strand break repair and faulty DNA replication. A better understanding of these potential cancer-causing mechanisms will lead to novel therapeutic regimens to fight cancer. This review describes technological advances in methods used to detect simple and complex chromosomal rearrangements, cancers that exhibit these rearrangements, potential mechanisms for rearrangement of chromosomes, and intervention strategies designed specifically against fusion gene products and causal DNA repair/synthesis pathways.