Facts on File Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

See also CANCER PREVENTION; DIAGNOSING CANCER;
ONCOGENES; TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES.

tumor suppressor genes Genes that stop cell
growth, preventing tumor development. In
health, tumor suppressor genes direct the produc-
tion of proteins to block cell division when there
are abnormalities in the cell, such as DNAdamage.
When mutated, tumor suppressor genes lose the
ability to influence cell division. Cells may then
proliferate without regulation, the foundation of
cancer. MOLECULARLY TARGETED THERAPIESand MONO-
CLONAL ANTIBODIES(MABS) show significant promise
for altering the function of mutated tumor sup-
pressor genes to restore their ability to block cell
growth.

IDENTIFIED TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES

Gene Cancer Connection

APC COLORECTAL CANCER

BRCA- 1 /BRCA- 2 BREAST CANCER, OVARIAN CANCER

MEN-1/MEN-2 MULTIPLE ENDOCRINE NEOPLASIA(MEN)

NF1/NF2 NEUROFIBROMATOSIS

PTEN THYROID CANCER

Rb RETINOBLASTOMA, osteosarcoma, breast

cancer, LUNG CANCER

TP53 (p53) lung cancer, breast cancer, LIVER CANCER,

CERVICAL CANCER, SKIN CANCER, PROSTATE

CANCER, ovarian cancer

WT1 WILMS’S TUMOR

See also CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION; GENE;

ONCOGENES.

tumor suppressor genes 397