Croce was recognized for his pioneering research into human cancer, particularly in combining cytogenetics and gene mapping to identify the genetic mechanisms underlying abnormal cell growth. He was also responsible for the identification of previously unrecognized oncogenes in B- cell tumors.
In his acceptance speech, Croce acknowledged that his research was "the logical continuation of something that happened here in the city of Philadelphia--the discovery, in 1960, of the Philadelphia chromosome." The Philadelphia chromosome, a crucial link to several types of cancer and tumors, as well as to mental retardation and other disorders, was first described by Peter C. Howell and David A. Hungerford (Science, 132:1497, 1960). Hunger-ford died last month (The Scientist, Nov. 29, 1993, page 22).
Assessing that breakthrough, which presented evidence of genetic changes in cancer cells, led Croce to apply "modern technology in molecular biology to identify the genes that are involved in cancer," he said.
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