Welcome to Genetics and Cancer: Understanding the Genetic Basis of Cancer, a comprehensive and beginner-friendly course designed to help you understand how genetic and molecular changes contribute to the development and progression of cancer. Cancer is fundamentally a disease of abnormal cellular growth and regulation, and genetics plays a central role in understanding why these changes occur. In this course, you will explore the relationship between DNA, genes, mutations, cellular regulation, and cancer development in a clear and structured way.
You will begin by building a foundation in genetics, including DNA structure, genes, chromosomes, genetic variation, and mutations. From there, the course introduces the major genetic and molecular mechanisms that can transform a normal cell into a cancer cell. You will learn about the important roles of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and DNA repair genes, and understand how alterations in these genes can affect normal cell growth, division, survival, and programmed cell death. The course also explores how abnormal molecular signaling pathways can contribute to uncontrolled cell proliferation and cancer progression.
Key topics covered include genetic mutations, cancer-causing genes, cell-cycle regulation, apoptosis, DNA damage and repair, hereditary cancer, cancer risk, and molecular mechanisms of tumor development. You will also gain an introduction to genetic testing, molecular profiling, targeted therapies, and the emerging role of personalized medicine in cancer care. This course is particularly suitable for medical, nursing, pharmacy, biomedical science, biotechnology, genetics, biology, and life-science students, as well as healthcare professionals, laboratory professionals, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding cancer genetics.
