.Molecular Biology of Leukemia

Abstract

Leukemia, indeed cancer in general, is a disorder of growth and proliferation that occurs when the normal function of one or more of growth affecting genes is disrupted. The mechanisms by which these gene disruptions may occur are not just of intellectual interest, but of profound clinical import as well, because it is now becoming clear that one or more of these disruptions have occurred in every patient with cancer (Klrsc� 1988). The tumor-specific markers, that would distinguish a tumor cell from the normal cell background, in which it arises, are precisely the specific genetic alterations which occur at the level of DNA within cancerous cells. Most importantly is the DNA rearrangement of immunoglobulin gene creates a tumor specific marker capable of establishing the clonality cellular lineage, and stage of development of hematologic malignancy (Bishop, 1985). oncogenes are genes coding for proteins in malignant transformation. Classically defined ''oncogenes", cancer causi�g genes carried in the genome of certain tumor viruses (Bishop, 1985), exist as cellular homologues "proto-oncogenes" with",.,normal human DNA (kirsch, 1988).