Much of today’s cancer research is devoted to finding missing or defective genes that cause cancer or increase an individual’s risk for certain types of cancer. Gene research at MD Anderson has resulted in many important discoveries. We identified the mutated multiple advanced cancers gene (MMAC1) involved in some common cancers. We also performed the first successful correction of a defective tumor suppressor gene (p53) in human lung cancer. Current gene therapies are experimental, and many are still tested only on animals. There are some clinical trials involving a very small number of h ...   read more