TP53 and cancer: The TP53 protein is involved in regulation of essential cell activities, like the cell cycle, cell death, cell differentiation, DNA repair, and formation of blood vessels (Lane and Levine, 2010), and has been called “the guardian of the genome.” These pathways are also involved in processes required to become a cancerous cell, and comprises several of the hallmarks of cancer, such as sustained angiogenesis and evading apoptosis (Hanahan and Weinberg, 2011).