Gene fusions in cancer

Patent Pending It has been known for 30 years that the corresponding gene fusion plays an important role in tumorgenesis.[8] Fusion genes can contribute to tumor formation because fusion genes can produce much more active abnormal protein than non-fusion genes.Often, fusion genes are oncogenes that cause cancer; these include BCR-ABL,[9] TEL-AML1 (ALL with t(12 ; 21)), AML1-ETO (M2 AML with t(8 ; 21)), and TMPRSS2-ERG with an interstitial deletion on chromosome 21, often occurring in prostate cancer.[10] In the case of TMPRSS2-ERG, by disrupting androgen receptor (AR) signaling and inhibiting AR expression by oncogenic ETS transcription factor, the fusion product regulate the prostate cancer.