Antioncogenes and human cancer.

Multiple genetic lesions are thought to transform a normal cell into a malignant one, and both dominant and recessive genetic effects have been identified in this process. Antioncogenes (or tumor suppressor genes) act in a recessive manner, in which both maternal and paternal alleles need to be inactivated to abrogate normal function. The identification of these lesions is giving us insight into the regulatory pathways in the cell and may translate into future improvements in prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of human cancer.