Howard Hughes Medical Institute and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA. vogelbe@welch.jhu.edu
The revolution in cancer research can be summed up in a single sentence: cancer is, in essence, a genetic disease. In the last decade, many important genes responsible for the genesis of various cancers have been discovered, their mutations precisely identified, and the pathways through which they act characterized. The purposes of this review are to highlight examples of progress in these areas, indicate where knowledge is scarce and point out fertile grounds for future investigation.