Driver Oncogenes
Driver oncogenes are mutated genes that actively drive tumor growth by locking cellular control switches, like KRAS, in a continuous 'on' state, directly causing unregulated cell division.
Driver oncogenes are specific genes that, when mutated, actively propel tumor growth and cancer progression. Unlike 'passenger' mutations, these oncogenes confer a functional advantage to the cell, such as locking growth-regulating proteins like KRAS in a continuous 'on' state, thereby driving unregulated proliferation and serving as critical targets for therapeutic strategies.
What this means in real life
A smoker develops lung cancer when a mutation in the KRAS gene causes their cells to divide uncontrollably, ignoring normal stop signals—the mutated gene actively pushes growth rather than just removing safety mechanisms.
What it isn’t
These are not simply genes that cause cancer by being absent or broken; they actively promote cancer when present in mutated form. A broken tumor suppressor is different—it fails to stop growth, whereas a driver oncogene actively accelerates it.
Commonly misused online
People often use 'oncogene' and 'tumor suppressor' interchangeably, but they work oppositely: oncogenes are stuck accelerators, while tumor suppressors are broken brakes.