Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various mutated genes that cause the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells.
  • noun Any of various viral genes that transform host cells into cancerous cells.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun oncology, genetics Any gene that contributes to the conversion of a normal cell into a cancerous cell when mutated or expressed at high levels.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a gene that disposes normal cells to change into cancerous tumor cells

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek onkos, mass, tumor; see oncology + gene.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From onco- +‎ gene.

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Examples

  • * The term oncogene had been coined earlier by two NCI scientists, Robert Huebner and George Todaro, in 1969, although on scant evidence.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • * The term oncogene had been coined earlier by two NCI scientists, Robert Huebner and George Todaro, in 1969, although on scant evidence.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • * The term oncogene had been coined earlier by two NCI scientists, Robert Huebner and George Todaro, in 1969, although on scant evidence.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • This phenomenon—like an addict feeding an addiction by ramping up the use of a drug—is called oncogene amplification.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • It was termed an oncogene,* a gene capable of causing cancer.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • It was termed an oncogene,* a gene capable of causing cancer.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • This phenomenon—like an addict feeding an addiction by ramping up the use of a drug—is called oncogene amplification.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • It was termed an oncogene,* a gene capable of causing cancer.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • This phenomenon—like an addict feeding an addiction by ramping up the use of a drug—is called oncogene amplification.

    The Emperor of All Maladies Siddhartha Mukherjee 2010

  • Firstly, the normal cellular oncogene is hyperactive, and secondly the oncogene product is altered so that it can no longer be regulated in a normal way.

    Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1989 - Press Release 1989

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