ABNORMALITIES IN CELL-CYCLE CONTROL IN CANCER AND THEIR CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Recent studies indicate that the functions of several genes that contr ol the cell cycle are altered during the carcinogenic process and that these changes perturb both cell proliferation and genomic stability, thus promoting cell transformation and enhancing the process of tumor progression. The purpose of this paper is to review current informatio n on the role of cyclins and related genes in the control of the mamma lian cell cycle, the types of abnormalities in these genes found in hu man tumors and the possible clinical implications of these findings.