The newly-created Chair in Cellular and Molecular Oncology aims to explore the many biological facets of cancer. The study of cancer has led to the discovery of many fundamental mechanisms in the biology of normal cells. Indeed, the cellular dysfunctions associated with "malignant" diseases affect almost every aspect of cell life and of the relationships between the body's cells. This knowledge is beginning to be used to improve patient care. The Chair's lectures will pay particular attention to so-called "translational" approaches, the interfaces between clinical and biological studies that have led to spectacular progress, but are unfortunately still too restricted to rare pathologies.
The opening lecture, entitled "Oncology, from empiricism to modern biology", took place on January 8, 2015. Lectures then ran until mid-February. In this first series of lectures, I wanted to offer a historical perspective on cancer research, from the birth of pathological anatomy in the 18thcentury , to the current explosion in genomics.
This first lecture provided an overview of the history of our knowledge of tumors, from the role played by microscopy in defining them, to genomics and experimental cancer in animals. I then stressed the importance of the epidemiological work carried out from the 1950s onwards in identifying the risk factors for cancers prevalent in humans. The major role played by viral infections and tobacco intoxication was highlighted. I then presented the contributions of virology, in particular retroviruses, to the identification of the first cancer genes (oncogenes). Studies of viruses with a DNA genome have led to the discovery of anti-oncogenes (in particular p53, the master gene of the stress response, and RB, the master regulator of proliferation), which are often bound and inactivated by viral proteins. These anti-oncogenes can also be inactivated by mutations present from conception (germline mutations) in rare familial forms of cancer.