© 1998 by Oxford University Press
One of the lessons from tumor suppressor research is that many years usually elapse between the cloning of a gene and identifying its function. Translating the gene's function into effective therapy is even more difficult. At this point, however, the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 seems to be the exception to that norm.
Even though the first breast cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA1, was cloned more than a year before BRCA2, scientists seem to be having a much easier time trying to figure out the function of BRCA2's protein. Furthermore, what is being discovered about its function has led to several ideas for BRCA2 Research Is On a Fast Track to The Clinic