Miller D M, Blume S, Borst M, Gee J, Polansky D, Ray R, Rodu B, Shrestha K, Snyder R, Thomas S
Department of Internal Medicine and Biochemistry, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35294.
Am J Med Sci. 1990 Jul;300(1):59-69. doi: 10.1097/00000441-199007000-00013.
During the past decade there have been remarkable strides in the understanding of the basic mechanism of cancer. It is now clear that there is a set of genes, known as oncogenes, that can cause cells to become malignant if their expression is altered, either by mutation or overexpression. The products of these genes include growth factors, growth factor receptors, signal tranduction proteins, and DNA binding proteins. The normal cellular counterparts of these genes play very important roles in the regulation of growth and proliferation by normal cells. Another set of genes, anti-oncogenes, also play an important role in preventing abnormal cell proliferation. The remarkable explosion of understanding of the pathophysiology of malignancy has led to a common unifying concept of malignant transformation that applies to all tumors. It is likely that these new insights will lead to improved and more specific treatments for malignant disease in the next decade.
在过去十年中，我们对癌症基本机制的理解取得了显著进展。现在很清楚，有一组被称为癌基因的基因，如果它们的表达因突变或过度表达而改变，就会导致细胞恶变。这些基因的产物包括生长因子、生长因子受体、信号转导蛋白和DNA结合蛋白。这些基因的正常细胞对应物在正常细胞的生长和增殖调节中发挥着非常重要的作用。另一组基因，即抗癌基因，在预防异常细胞增殖方面也起着重要作用。对恶性肿瘤病理生理学认识的显著飞跃，导致了一个适用于所有肿瘤的恶性转化统一概念。很可能这些新见解将在未来十年带来针对恶性疾病的改进且更具特异性的治疗方法。
