Identification of cancer-prone individuals: p53 and family cancer syndromes.
Progress in prevention of any disease is enhanced by the identification of a group of individuals who are at increased risk to develop the disease. The ability to detect families with evident predisposition to malignancy provides a unique opportunity to study high-risk groups. Recent studies of the p53 gene have suggested that heritable mutations in this gene may predispose affected individuals to the development of a wide variety of tumors. In this article, evidence for the involvement of p53 in inheritable cancers is assessed, and the implications for future studies are discussed.
Diller
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Division of Molecular Genetics, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston.
Friend
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D016158:Genes, p53; D006801:Humans; D016864:Li-Fraumeni Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D009386:Neoplastic Syndromes, Hereditary