From Bench Top to Bedside

CANCER RESEARCHMore than 2 decades of research on oncogenes and tumor suppressors may finally pay off in a new generation of more specific, less toxic, cancer drugs. Some have already yielded promising results in cell culture studies and in animals, and are moving into tests in humans--and more are on the way. The targets of these drugs include cell surface receptors through which growth factors exert their effects and oncogene products that transmit growth-stimulatory signals inside cells. Still others aim to compensate for oncogene or tumor-suppressor gene mutations that impair cells' ability to initiate programmed cell death or apoptosis. Researchers hope these new therapies will kill cancer cells more effectively, with less harm to normal cells.