A REVIEW OF TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENES IN CUTANEOUS NEOPLASMS WITH EMPHASIS ON CELL-CYCLE REGULATORS

Cells normally have five options. These include renewal or proliferati on, terminal differentiation, quiescence, senescence, and apoptosis. M any factors interact with cell cycle regulators to direct the cells to ward these different options. Tumor suppressor genes play a pivotal ro le in this process. Alterations in these genes may limit the options t hat cells have and thus play a significant role in the multistep proce ss of carcinogenesis. We will focus on tumor suppressor genes and espe cially tumor suppressor genes that interact directly with the cell cyc le proteins.