Tumor Protein p53: Novel Aspects of an Old Tumor Marker

P53 gene is a tumor suppressor gene that stops the formation of tumors. If a person inherits only one functional copy of the p53 gene from his parents, he will be predisposed to cancer and usually develop several tumors in various tissues in early adulthood. However, mutations in p53 are found in most tumor types, and so contribute to a number of molecular events leading to tumor formation. There are numerous informations that exist on all aspects of p53 normal function and mutant expression in human cancers, reflecting its key role in the pathogenesis of human cancers.