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Therapeutic applications of oncogenes

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Oncogenes

Part of the book series: Cancer Treatment and Research ((CTAR,volume 47))

Abstract

It is hoped that understanding the fundamental mechanisms of oncogenesis will lead to novel and more rational treatments of cancer. Explorations into the differences between the growth kinetics of cancerous and normal tissues have already given us cell-cycle-dependent chemotherapeutic agents. The development of the oncogene concept, depicting tumorigenesis as perturbations in individuals genes, has further raised expectations for therapeutic advances. Conceivably, methods might be devised to directly inhibit the activity of individual transforming genes. In this chapter, we will describe current work using our knowledge of oncogenes in cancer therapy, and discuss possibilities for therapeutic applications. Whereas the diagnostic and monitoring functions of oncogenes are already being used in contemporary medicine, the therapeutic applications that will be discussed remain hypothetical. The possibilities, however, are intriguing in that anti-oncogene therapeutics represent a conceptually novel approach to cancer treatment.

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Authors
  1. James W. Larrick
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  2. Edison Liu
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, USA

    Christopher Benz

  2. Lineberger Cancer Research Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

    Edison Liu

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Larrick, J.W., Liu, E. (1989). Therapeutic applications of oncogenes. In: Benz, C., Liu, E. (eds) Oncogenes. Cancer Treatment and Research, vol 47. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1599-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1599-5_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8885-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1599-5

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