Growth Factors, Oncogenes and Tumour Suppressor Genes

Control of cell proliferation involves a complex interplay between direct mechanisms linking a cell with adjacent cells and their interstitial stroma, and indirect mechanisms mediated through factors carried by organ vasculature. Disruption of the functional integrity of growth regulatory systems may lead to uncontrolled proliferation and abnormal cellular behaviour manifest in a most extreme form in the development of malignant tumours.