The presence of DNMT3A, TET2, and ASXL1 mutations in normal elderly individuals forms the basis of understanding that accumulation of somatic mutations may not cause direct disease-development; however, cooperation with other mutations in the genes that are frequently mutated in myeloid and other hematopoietic cancers might result in clonal expansion through self-renewal and/or proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells.
Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research