Question

Explain why you cannot inherit an oncogene gene mutation but can inherit a tumor suppressor gene mutation.

Answer 1

Ans : Oncogene and tumor suppressor gene are 2 main type of gene that play a role in cancer.

Oncogenes - proto-oncogenes are genes that normally help cell grow.when a proto oncogene mutates(changes) or there are too many copies of it, it becomes a "bad" gene that can become permanently turned on or activated when it is not supposed to be.when this happens the cell grows out of control which can lead to cancer. This bad gene is called an oncogene. A few cancer syndromes are caused by inherited mutations of proto-oncogenes that cause the oncogene activated.Bt most cancer causing mutations involving oncogenea are acquired,not inherited.

Tumor suppressor genes- They are normal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes or tell cells when to die ( adoptosis or programmed cell death).when a TSG don't work properly,cells can grow out of control,which lead to cancer.

Inherited abnormalities of TSGs have been found in some family cancer syndromes.They cause certain types of cancer to run in families.bt most tumor suppressor gene mutations are acquired, not inherited. Acquired mutations of this gene appear in a wide range of cancers.