Abstract
During normal cellular development, there is a complex system of checks and balances to ensure regulation of the cells as they proliferate and specialize to perform their physiological functions. Various genes cooperate, concomitantly and/or sequentially with others, to activate and direct the developmental mechanisms in a developing foetus. After their target is achieved, these pathways are either kept dormant or are used elsewhere in a different context (growth, repair, etc.). Reactivation of these genes, by various mutations and/or carcinogens, can reinstate these developmental pathways. If these pathways remain active incessantly and do not obey the normal regulatory mechanisms, cell proliferation becomes independent of the growth stimulus, and this produces a mass—cancer [1–3].
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Hammond, P., Annavarapu, S. (2019). Embryological Basis of Congenital Tumours. In: Carachi, R., Doss, S. (eds) Clinical Embryology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26158-4_49
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