Today, we take for granted that cancers arise when genes in our cells go awry. But less than 60 years ago, scientists were still trying to understand the molecular machinery that drove it. Unlocking cancer's secrets began with a chicken.
By studying a virus that caused cancer in chickens, former UC San Francisco Chancellor emeritus J. Michael Bishop, MD, and longtime lab partner former Professor of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics Harold E. Varmus, MD, showed that cancer is fundamentally a genetic disease - and paved the way for modern-day precision treatments.
The duo went on to win UCSF's first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for identifying cancer-causing oncogenes.
Bishop passed away earlier this year . Ahead of the 2026 Nobel Prize awards, we look back at some of Bishop's most memorable musings.
On the discovery of oncogenes:
'The universality of nature'
Bishop and Varmus focused on the single cancer-causing gene within the poultry pox, seeking to understand how one gene could transform healthy cells into cancerous ones. The pair found the gene wasn't confined to the chicken virus - it was present in virtually all healthy cells, whether they had encountered the avian virus or not.
Essentially, under the right conditions, normal cells could become oncogenes, or mutated genes that cause cancer. Their Nobel-winning discovery - the first such award for a San Francisco institution - ushered in the era of modern cancer care, paving the way for researchers to identify genes like HER2 as oncogenes for some aggressive breast cancers and to develop specially targeted treatments, such as the well-known drug Herceptin.
