Molecular oncology and the surgeon.

The last 20 years have witnessed a flood of new developments and discoveries in the fields of molecular biology and oncology. Dozens of human genes associated with cancer predisposition syndromes and the malignant and metastatic process have been identified and characterized. These findings have led to a greater understanding of this complex disease and inaugurated a new era of investigations seeking more effective diagnostic protocols and therapies. This review summarizes a few of the many salient discoveries and discusses the clinical implications for the surgeon