Programming events in the regulation of cell proliferation and death

In developing new and more successful therapies for preventing and treating cancer, it is critical to understand what normally regulates cell proliferation and cell death and what are the specific dysfunctions associated with these regulations in individual cancers. Here we review the programmed series of molecular, cellular, and biochemical events required for a cell's entrance and progression through the proliferative vs death processes as a starting point for such approaches to new therapies.