Cell growth briefly at M phase when the nucleus and then the cell divide in two. The process of cell division, called cell cycle, has four major parts called phases. The first part, called G phase is marked by synthesis of various enzymes that are required for DNA replication. The second part of the cell cycle is the S phase, where DNA replication produces two identical sets of chromosomes. The third part is the G phase in which a significant protein synthesis occurs, mainly involving the production of microtubules that are required during the process of division, called mitosis. The fourth phase,
DNA methylation in cancer and predisposes the cell and its descendants to progression to cancer. Another review also indicated an early role for hypermethylation of DNA repair genes in cancer. If a gene necessary for DNA repair is hypermethylated, resulting in deficient DNA repair, DNA damages will accumulate. Increased DNA damage tends to cause increased errors during DNA synthesis, leading to mutations that can give rise to cancer. If hypermethylation of a DNA repair gene is an early step in carcinogenesis, then it may also occur in the normal-appearing tissues surrounding the cancer from which the cancer arose (the field defect). See the table