Since the Philadelphia chromosome was discovered in 1960, studies over the past six decades have identified fusion genes, oncogenes that provide great diagnostic and therapeutic advantages because of their tumour-specific expression. This Timeline article revisits the spectrum of gene fusions in cancer and how the methods to identify them have evolved, and also discusses the implications of current, sequencing-based approaches for detection.
- Fredrik Mertens
- Bertil Johansson
- Felix Mitelman
