New tools for functional mammalian cancer genetics.
Knowledge of the function of individual genes that encode components of cell-signalling pathways is crucial to our understanding of normal growth control and its deregulation in cancer, but we have functional information for only 15% of human genes at present. Several new technologies have recently become available to identify gene function in mammalian cells using high-throughput genetic screens. These new tools will make it possible to identify new and innovative classes of anticancer drugs, including those that show synthetic lethal interactions with cancer-specific mutations.
Brummelkamp
Thijn R
TR
Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis and Center for Biomedical Genetics, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Bernards
René
R
D000818:Animals; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy