Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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In this video, we look at tumour suppressor genes and abnormal DNA methylation in the development of cancer. First we look at what is meant by a tumour suppressor gene. We then look at the functions of tumour suppressor genes including DNA repair and programmed cell death (apoptosis). We look at the examples of BRCA1/BRCA2 and TP53. We then explore how hypermethylation of tumour suppressor genes or hypomethylation of oncogenes increase the risk of developing cancer.

Image credits:

Malignant melanoma scalp
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malignant_Melanoma_Mid_Frontal_Scalp.jpg
Dermanonymous, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fibroma
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fibroma.jpg
Klaus D. Peter, Wiehl, Germany, CC BY 3.0 DE creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons

Breast cancer mammogram
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mammo_breast_cancer.jpg
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government

Colorectal cancer (modified by S. Donnelly)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pre_and_post_chemotherapy_colorectal_cancer.png
KIICHI SUGIMOTO, KAZUHIRO SAKAMOTO, CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lung cancer
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LungCACXR.PNG
James Heilman, MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cell undergoing apoptosis
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HeLa-IV.jpg
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons