The present invention relates generally to the field of cancer therapy and cancer diagnostics and to agents useful therefor. More particularly, the present invention provides a novel tumor suppressor gene, an expression product including a polypeptide or protein encoded thereby and nucleic acid probes and primers and peptide fragments characteristic of the tumor suppressor gene or its expression product or mutants or derivatives thereof. The present invention further provides molecules generated through combinatorial chemistry or rational chemical synthesis or identified following screening of chemical libraries or natural sources which augment or otherwise facilitate the activity or function of the tumor suppressor gene or its expression product and in particular in cells which carry a deletion or other mutation including a gene silencing event in one or both alleles of the tumor suppressor gene. The present invention provides diagnostic agents to detect the presence or absence of the tumor suppressor gene or the presence or absence of an expressible tumor suppressor gene or the presence or absence of an expression product of the tumor suppressor gene useful in determining the likelihood of development of a tumor in a vertebrate animal such as mammal and in particular a human. The present invention further provides genetically modified animals carrying cells in which one or both alleles of the tumor suppressor gene are deleted or mutated or where expression of the gene is otherwise silenced.
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