DNA discovery opens new door to develop tools, therapies for hereditary cancers (in research)

"....Errors in DNA can arise from many types of damage including external harm, such as UV radiation or carcinogens, as well as by intrinsic cellular processes such as DNA replication. Failure to correct these errors leads to mutations, which results in cancer or a number of severe genetic disorders."

“The reason why it can lead to cancer is because if you don’t have mismatch repair proteins that correct these errors, you’re going to accumulate mutations,” said Guarné. “People with defective mismatch repair genes develop cancers at very early ages. You would see a family that in their 30s has colorectal cancer and in their 40s they have it again. There’s no way you can prevent that – you can’t correct your DNA. As you grow older, you’re going to accumulate mutations.”