What is an oncogene?
Q: What is an oncogene?
A: An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer or bring about uncontrolled cell division.
Q: How are oncogenes in tumor cells different from normal cells?
A: Oncogenes in tumor cells are often mutated or expressed at high levels, causing those cells designated for apoptosis to survive and proliferate instead.
Q: What causes activated oncogenes to cause cancer?
A: Most oncogenes require an additional step, such as mutations in another gene, or environmental factors, such as viral infection, to cause cancer.
Q: How many oncogenes have been identified in human cancer since the 1970s?
A: Dozens of oncogenes have been identified in human cancer since the 1970s.
Q: What is the significance of the discovery made by J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus in 1976?
A: J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus discovered that oncogenes were activated proto-oncogenes, found in many organisms including humans, which earned them the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1989.
Q: How do cancer drugs target oncogenes?
A: Many cancer drugs target the proteins coded by oncogenes in order to combat cancer.
Q: What is apoptosis?
A: Apoptosis is a programmed form of death that most normal cells undergo.
