News from the Lab

The retinoblastoma (RB) susceptibility gene was the first gatekeeper gene discovered for cancer. When it was removed, or damaged, cancers thrived. Over the years, researchers discovered many methods to experimentally remove the RB gene in order to study it, but just how the gene’s loss made cancers more aggressive in patients was poorly understood. By studying patient samples, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and colleagues found how one type of RB removal, but not another, caused large-scale genetic changes that could make cancer both resistant to treatment and more likely to spread.

See original article at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171206122449.htm