染色体不稳定性（CIN）是指细胞在细胞分裂过程中获得结构和数量染色体异常的倾向增加，这导致肿瘤遗传异质性。 CIN 长期以来一直被认为是癌症的标志，过去十年的证据表明 CIN 与肿瘤进化、转移、免疫逃避和治疗抵抗密切相关。直到最近，CIN 推动癌症进展的机制仍然难以捉摸。除了基因组拷贝数异质性的产生之外，最近的工作还揭示了异常染色体分离的其他促肿瘤后果。这些机制包括复杂的染色体重排、表观遗传重编程和癌细胞内在炎症的诱导，强调了 CIN 在癌症中的多方面作用。© 2024。Springer Nature Limited。

Chromosomal instability (CIN) refers to an increased propensity of cells to acquire structural and numerical chromosomal abnormalities during cell division, which contributes to tumour genetic heterogeneity. CIN has long been recognized as a hallmark of cancer, and evidence over the past decade has strongly linked CIN to tumour evolution, metastasis, immune evasion and treatment resistance. Until recently, the mechanisms by which CIN propels cancer progression have remained elusive. Beyond the generation of genomic copy number heterogeneity, recent work has unveiled additional tumour-promoting consequences of abnormal chromosome segregation. These mechanisms include complex chromosomal rearrangements, epigenetic reprogramming and the induction of cancer cell-intrinsic inflammation, emphasizing the multifaceted role of CIN in cancer.© 2024. Springer Nature Limited.