Associate Member, Department of Cancer Genetics
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Elm and Carlton Streets
Buffalo, NY 14263
Telephone: (716) 845-4529
Fax: (716) 845-1698
E-mail: Garth.Anderson@RoswellPark.org

General Research Interest

• Genomic instability in tumor progression and malignancy

Current Program

• Quantitating genomic instability in human sporadic colorectal cancer
• Characterization of individual instability events, to clarify mechanisms involved
• Locating and identifying the genes which give rise to genomic instability in cancer
• Clinically exploiting genomic instability in colorectal, breast and thyroid cancer
• How does smoking relate to genomic instability

Description of Research

My research program is targeted at understanding the fundamental nature of cancer: what really is this disease? I have come to view cancer as a disease of genomic destabilization, arising out of the loss of genes designed to preserve genomic integrity, followed by many years of evolution and natural selection. Ultimately this leads to a highly heterogeneous population of proliferating, invading and continuously evolving cells, which we see as the malignant tumor. For our studies we focus on colorectal cancer, since tissues are readily available beginning at the earliest stages of the progression pathway, and going all the way on to late metastases. Our studies have been greatly facilitated by the exceptional collegiality of the surgeons in the colorectal service here at Roswell Park. To learn more about Dr. Anderson's research, please visit his website [listed at top of the page].