MOLECULAR MARKERS OF CARCINOGENESIS

The protein products of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes play crit ical roles in the development of many cancers. The expression of a num ber of these proteins can be detected in extracellular fluids such as blood. This article reviews the literature on the application of metho ds for the detection of the proteins of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in the blood of humans with cancer or at risk for the developme nt of cancer. The detection of these proteins in blood may be useful m olecular markers of carcinogenesis that could play an important part i n cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scien ce, Inc.