S.J. Baker, S. Markowitz, E.R. Fearon, J.K.V. Willson, B. Vogelstein, "Suppression of human colorectal carcinoma cell growth by wild- type p53,"Science, 249:912-15, 1990. S.J. Baker, A.C. Preisinger, J.M. Jessup, et al., "p53 gene mutations occur in combination with 17p allelic deletions as late events in colorectal tumorigenesis," Cancer Research, 50:7717-22, 1990.

Bert Vogelstein (Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, Md.): "Cancer represents not one disease but hundreds. Accordingly, cancer researchers have long tried to find common threads that link these diseases together, providing generalized insights into the processes underlying human neoplasia. The p53 gene appears to be one such thread. Research over the last three years has shown that p53 is mutated in diverse forms of human tumors. The papers noted above provide some basic information about the nature and effects of these mutations.

"The data suggest that the normal p53 gene can inhibit the growth of human cancer cells and...

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