Oncogenes and oncogene products in urogenital cancer cells

Recent development in microbiology and genetic engineering has provided the identification and characterization of so-called 'oncogenes'. The concept of oncogenes has much stimulated intense interest in searching the cause of uncontrolled cell growth and factors responsible for formation of tumors. Because of the fact that oncogenes were first discovered in an established cell line derived from patient with bladder tumor, the association between oncogenes and genitourinary cancer has much attention. Variety of pathways of tumor development in bladder cancer can be divided in two major forms, low grade papillary tumor and high grade infiltrating tumor. Activation and a sequence of oncogenes may be relevant to the ultimate expression of these separate pathways. Concept of initiation and promotion may also be factored into these consideration. The application of these principles to the different pathways of tumor development such as in bladder, kidney and prostate cancers, supports the concept that oncogenes may be required to production of malignant tumors. The purpose of this paper is to review recent evidence that has enhanced our understanding of the genetic basis of cancer development in the genitourinary tract cancer.