IN THE SPOTLIGHT Mutant and Wild-type Ras: Co-conspirators in Cancer

Authors’ Affi liations: 1 Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology; 2 Department of Pharmacology, 3 Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Corresponding Author: Channing J. Der, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. Phone: 919-966-5634; Fax: 919-966-9673; E-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-12-0521 ©2012 American Association for Cancer Research. Summary: Although the functional interplay between mutant and wild-type Ras in driving tumor initiation and growth has been described, a clear picture of the precise ramifi cations and mechanisms of this association remains elusive, sometimes with confl icting conclusions. A report in this issue of Cancer Discovery tackles this question, which may have important implications for therapeutic strategies to block mutant Ras for cancer treatment. Cancer Discov; 3(1); 24–6. ©2012 AACR.