[The Research Institute for Molecular Pathology (I.M.P.)--a new approach for cancer development]

The aim of basic research at the I.M.P. is a more comprehensive understanding of cancer development that should lead to less aggressive and more efficient therapies in future. Molecular biological methods provide a valuable tool to describe the genetic defects and malfunctions of the cancer cell, an understanding of which is essential for the establishment of causal cancer treatment. Several working groups are studying aspects of cellular growth and its regulation from different points of view. One group is investigating yeast genetics, because there the network of genetic interactions can be followed up most easily. In mouse genetics the question of how the so-called proto-oncogenes act during embryonic development is being looked at. Model systems indicate how oncogenes reprogram the cells, and how growth signals enter the nucleus to induce new cascades of gene activity. By characterizing transcriptional and post-transcriptional factors it might well be possible to forge an approach towards the growth signals in the cytoplasm. During these investigations the results will be continuously scrutinized for useful therapeutic concepts.