Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2025

Mapping the Structure-Function Relationships of Disordered Oncogenic Transcription Factors Using Transcriptomic Analysis
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Mapping the Structure-Function Relationships of Disordered Oncogenic Transcription Factors Using Transcriptomic Analysis

Published on: June 27, 2020

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A History of Cancer Research: Oncogenic Transcription Factors

Joseph Lipsick1

  • 1Departments of Pathology, Genetics, and Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5324, USA lipsick@stanford.edu.

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology
|June 3, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Early cancer research revealed tumor viruses encode nuclear oncoproteins. This history highlights key discoveries like MYC, MYB, FOS, JUN, Rel/NF-κB, and nuclear receptors, offering insights into cancer mechanisms and therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Virology

Background:

  • Transcription factors are critical in cancer development.
  • Tumor viruses encode oncoproteins that influence cellular processes.
  • Early research in the 1980s identified viral oncoproteins acting in the nucleus.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To recount the historical discovery of nuclear oncogenes encoded by tumor viruses.
  • To detail the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of these oncoproteins.
  • To provide an overview of seminal discoveries in cancer research history.

Main Methods:

  • Historical review of early cancer research findings.
  • Examination of studies on tumor virus-encoded oncoproteins.
  • Focus on the discovery of specific nuclear oncogenes and receptors.

Main Results:

  • Identification of key nuclear oncogenes: MYC, MYB, FOS, and JUN.
  • Discovery of Rel/NF-κB and nuclear receptors (retinoic acid, thyroid hormone) as oncogenic factors.
  • Elucidation of the mechanisms of action for these viral oncoproteins.

Conclusions:

  • Viral oncoproteins, particularly nuclear ones, are fundamental to cancer research.
  • Understanding these oncogenes has paved the way for potential therapeutic strategies.
  • This historical perspective underscores the importance of foundational discoveries in oncology.

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