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  • Historical Perspective
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Cancer genes and the pathways they control

Nature Medicine volume 10, pages 789–799 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The revolution in cancer research can be summed up in a single sentence: cancer is, in essence, a genetic disease. In the last decade, many important genes responsible for the genesis of various cancers have been discovered, their mutations precisely identified, and the pathways through which they act characterized. The purposes of this review are to highlight examples of progress in these areas, indicate where knowledge is scarce and point out fertile grounds for future investigation.

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Figure 1: Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) pathway.
Figure 2: Rb (a) and p53 (b) pathways.
Figure 3: Apoptosis pathway.
Figure 4: HIF1 pathway.
Figure 5: APC pathway.
Figure 6: GLI pathway.
Figure 7: PI3K pathway.
Figure 8: SMAD pathway.
Figure 9: Overview of cancer gene pathways.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank many colleagues for their critical reading of the manuscript and S. Mousses for sharing results on EphB2 before publication. Work in the authors' laboratories has been supported by the Ludwig Trust, the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, the Miracle Foundation, the Clayton Fund and US National Institutes of Health grants CA43460, CA57345 and CA62924.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions, Baltimore, 21231, Maryland, USA

    Bert Vogelstein & Kenneth W Kinzler

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Under separate licensing agreements between the Johns Hopkins University and Genzyme, Exact Sciences Corporation, Wyeth, Agencourt Biosciences, Hoffman-LaRoche, Merck and GMP Companies, the authors are entitled to a share of royalty received by the University on sales of products related to research described in this review. The authors and the University own Genzyme and GMP Companies stock, which is subject to certain restrictions under University policy. K.W.K. is a consultant to Genzyme and B.V. and K.W.K. are consultants to GMP Companies. K.W.K. receives research funding from Genzyme. The terms of this arrangement are being managed by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

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Vogelstein, B., Kinzler, K. Cancer genes and the pathways they control. Nat Med 10, 789–799 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1087

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