Why does cancer keep growing? | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Why does cancer keep growing? | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Why do cancer cells keep dividing over and over? The answer can be found in fundamental biology breakthroughs of the late 20th century. In 1982, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) geneticist Michael Wigler helped identify the first known human oncogenes. When mutated, these genes produce an excess of proteins that cause uncontrolled cell growth. Soon afterward, scientists identified the first anti-oncogenes, also known as tumor-suppressing gen…