Editing Cancer research (section)

==== Genes involved in cancer ====
{{main|Oncogenomics}}
{{See also|Databases for oncogenomic research}}
The goal of [[oncogenomics]] is to identify new [[oncogenes]] or [[tumor suppressor genes]] that may provide new insights into cancer diagnosis, predicting clinical outcome of cancers, and new targets for cancer therapies. As the [[Cancer Genome Project]] stated in a 2004 review article, "a central aim of cancer research has been to identify the mutated genes that are causally implicated in oncogenesis (''cancer genes'')."<ref name="pmid14993899">{{cite journal | vauthors = Futreal PA, Coin L, Marshall M, Down T, Hubbard T, Wooster R, Rahman N, Stratton MR | title = A census of human cancer genes | journal = Nature Reviews. Cancer | volume = 4 | issue = 3 | pages = 177–183 | date = March 2004 | pmid = 14993899 | pmc = 2665285 | doi = 10.1038/nrc1299 }}</ref> [[The Cancer Genome Atlas]] project is a related effort investigating the genomic changes associated with cancer, while the [[COSMIC cancer database]] documents acquired genetic [[mutation]]s from hundreds of thousands of human cancer samples.<ref name="pmid16421597">{{cite journal | vauthors = Forbes S, Clements J, Dawson E, Bamford S, Webb T, Dogan A, Flanagan A, Teague J, Wooster R, Futreal PA, Stratton MR | title = COSMIC 2005 | journal = British Journal of Cancer | volume = 94 | issue = 2 | pages = 318–322 | date = January 2006 | pmid = 16421597 | pmc = 2361125 | doi = 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602928 }}</ref>

These large scale projects, involving about 350 different types of cancer, have identified ~130,000 [[mutation]]s in ~3000 [[genes]] that have been mutated in the tumors. The majority occurred in 319 genes, of which 286 were tumor suppressor genes and 33 oncogenes.

Several hereditary factors can increase the chance of cancer-causing mutations, including the activation of oncogenes or the inhibition of tumor suppressor genes. The functions of various onco- and tumor suppressor genes can be disrupted at different stages of tumor progression. Mutations in such genes can be used to classify the malignancy of a tumor. <!-- What does this last sentence mean?/! -->

In later stages, tumors can develop a resistance to cancer treatment. The identification of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes is important to understand tumor progression and treatment success. The role of a given gene in cancer progression may vary tremendously, depending on the stage and type of cancer involved.<ref>Vlahopoulos SA, Logotheti S, Mikas D, Giarika A, Gorgoulis V, Zoumpourlis V.The role of ATF-2 in oncogenesis" ''Bioessays'' 2008 Apr;30(4) 314-27.</ref>