Cellular Oncogenes as Biotherapeutic Targets for the Differentiation and Inhibition of Cancer Cells
Robert I. Glazer, Angelo Aquino, Gang Yu · 2019
Developments in the fields of cell and molecular biology have contributed greatly to our understanding of the intricacies of the biological processes underlying the differentiation and proliferation of the malignant cell. Functional alterations also result from treatment of established leukemia cell lines with phorbol esters. The study of the process of cellular differentiation has been predominantly phenomenological rather than mechanistic. One of the more revolutionary developments has been the elucidation of cellular oncogene expression in normal cellular differentiation, proliferation, and transformation. The role of growth factors in cellular differentiation is only beginning to be explored. It is believed that for malignant transformation to take place, the activation and concerted effect of at least two oncogenes must occur. The recent progress in cell and molecular biology has opened up new avenues for the application of biotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment.