The use of in vitro cell transformation, as a complement to the direct study of tumors and established tumor cell lines, has enabled the analysis of the contribution of diverse genes to the tumor phenotype. The most recent results have underlined the importance of fundamental mechanisms regulating cell proliferation. The role in the long term survival of mammalian cells in culture and in tumor progression of the telomerase enzyme, which permits the maintenance of chromosome ends integrity, has now been demonstrated. Cell cycle progression and its regulation are ensured by a positive control exerted by cyclin-kinase complexes and by a negative one exerted by kinase inhibitors. Cyclin and kinase genes are frequently altered in transformed and tumor cells, as well as the genes coding for membrane proteins responsible for cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts.