As such, TP53 is seen as a critical barrier to tumourigenesis and loss of wild-type p53 function occurs in more than half of all tumours through either mutation or compromised function caused by a variety of mechanisms including viral oncoproteins such as Human Papilloma Virus E6 (10) or overexpression of negative regulators such as MDM2 and PPM1D (11,12). The gene discussed is TP53; the disease is neoplasm.