Tumor Suppressor Gene: What Does P53 Cause Cancer

P53 is a tumor suppressor gene, which usually stops cell division from occurring. This gene is very important during the G1/S checkpoint because it stops cell division from occurring if damaged or dangerous genetic material (DNA) is found. It then signals for enzymes, which are used to repair the damaged component of the DNA, which then allows cells with repaired DNA to divide. When DNA can’t be repaired, then the cell goes under apoptosis (death of the cell). However when this gene is turned off or it isn’t able to destruct damaged DNA, then the cell with the damaged DNA is able to divide continuously which may cause cancer. This means that for cancer to occur all p53 genes have to be non-active or stopped. Since p53, signals for the repair or apoptosis of the cell, when this gene is mutated cells containing dangerous DNA is able to divide, and that DNA builds up in several cells causing cancer.
Most cancers associated with the p53 gene are somatic mutations, which means that the cancer is not inherited from the parent(s). Most of these mutations change a single amino acid of the p53 protein, which causes the p53 gene to function incorrectly. The types of tumors associated with p53 genes are benign tumors, which have damaged cells that stay in the region in where they were produced. This is due to p53 genes, which stopped these damaged cells from dividing. Therefore, p53 is a tumor suppressor gene, which helps control cellular division, so diseases like cancer may not