The accumulation of DNA repair defects is the molecular origin of carcinogenesis

Genomic instability has been considered to be one of the prominent factors for carcinogenesis and the development of a number of degenerative disorders, predominantly related to the aging. The cellular machineries involved in the maintenance of genomic integrity such as DNA repair and DNA damage responses are extensively characterized by a large number of studies. The failure of proper actions of such cellular machineries may lead to the devastating effects mostly inducing cancer or premature aging, even with no acute exogenous DNA damage stimuli. In this review, we especially focus on the pathophysiological aspects of the defective DNA damage responses in carcinogenesis and premature aging. Clear understanding the causes of carcinogenesis and age-related degenerative diseases will provide novel and efficient approaches for prevention and rational treatment of cancer and premature aging.We greatly thank Dr. Jean Dahl (retired, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA) and Dr. Nurten Saydam (Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria) for critical reading and discussion and all the researchers who have made great contributions to this research field. This work was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012011382, 2012044458-H Yim and 20110031698-HJ Cha)