The early, organ-specific diagnosis of malignancy continues to be a major unmet medical need. Clearly the ability to establish an early diagnosis of cancer is dependent upon an intimate knowledge of the cancer's biology, which if understood at the molecular level should identify key diagnostic and therapeutic manipulation points. Advances in recombinant gene technology have provided significant understanding of the mechanisms of action of oncogenic viruses, as well as of cancer-associated genomic sequences (onco genes). This text will explore the known molecular genetic, biolog ical, and...