In 1979, the most frequently mutated gene in human cancer, p53, was identified by six groups of researchers working each working independently, including: Lionel Crawford at Imperial Cancer Research Fund, David P. Lane at Princeton University/UMDNJ (Cancer Institute of New Jersey), Arnold Levine and Lloyd Ol.

The p53 gene is a tumor suppressor gene. Tumor suppressor genes are genes whose protein products control normal cell growth.