Researched
Oncogenes (Cancer-Driving Genes)
Bishop and Varmus showed in 1976 that a cancer-causing virus gene is a copy of a normal gene in our own cells: cancer is a disease of damaged genes.
Open in the interactive tree →The src gene of the Rous sarcoma virus has a normal counterpart in healthy cells, which earned Bishop and Varmus the 1989 Nobel Prize. Tumour-suppressor genes such as p53 followed, and mutated cancer genes became drug targets.
Prerequisites
- Viruses Discovered1892-1898
- Structure of DNA1953
- Reverse Transcriptase (RNA to DNA)1970
Unlocks
- Tumor Suppressor Genes1986Cancer genes that act as brakes are the counterpart of oncogene accelerators.
- Targeted Cancer Drugs (Imatinib)2001The BCR-ABL cancer gene drives the leukemia that imatinib blocks.
- HPV Vaccine2006
- Curing CanceropenCancer as damaged genes underlies targeted drugs and the search for cures