GROWTH FACTORS AND CANCER

Abstract

Recent advances in protein chemistry and genetic engineering have revealed new information about the molecular lesions involved in the induction and maintenance of cancer cells. It is now known that a single base change in the DNA of human cells leads to cancer. The normal pathway of proliferation and differentiation is perturbed by changes to molecules involved in the intracellular biochemical pathways controlled by growth factors. Some cancer cells appear to produce their own growth factor, others have higher concentrations of growth factor receptors on their surface and others have mutated versions of the intracellular proteins linked to the growth factor receptors. This increased understanding of growth control in normal and neoplastic cell populations is gradually providing a foundation for new approaches to cancer therapy.