Oncogenic role of nucleophosmin/B23

Abstract

Nucleophosmin/B23 was first identified as a nucleolar protein expressed at higher levels in cancer cells compared to normal cells. Nucleophosmin/B23 has long been thus thought to have a role in tumor formation. With our efforts and others in the last 15 years, nucleophosmin/B23 has proven to have an oncogenic role. In this review, we provide evidence suggesting that nucleophosmin/B23 may be a crucial gene in regulation of cancer growth and discuss how nucleophosmin/B23 can contribute to tumorigenesis.