Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are very important in how tumors grow and react to treatments. Let’s break down what these terms mean.

Oncogenes

• What They Do: Help cells divide and stay alive.
• Example: The MYC oncogene can help tumors grow quickly.

Tumor Suppressors

• What They Do: Stop cell growth and help prevent tumors from forming.
• Example: The TP53 gene can fix damaged DNA or make cells die if they are too damaged.

How They Work Together in Tumor Environment

• When oncogenes are turned on, they can take control and ignore what the tumor suppressors are doing. This leads to fast and uncontrolled growth of tumors.
• Tumor suppressors also affect the surrounding tissue, which can change how the immune system works and help new blood vessels form. This can, in turn, influence how oncogenes act.

Understanding how these genes interact is very important for creating new treatments!