question: Which phenomenon is described as oncogene addiction?
answer:  Oncogene addiction  describes the curious acquired dependence of tumor cells on an activated oncogene for their survival and/or proliferation, a phenomenon that has important implications for the success of targeted cancer therapies. However, the mechanisms explaining oncogene addiction remain elusive. We propose that  addiction  may be an illusion generated as a consequence of differential attenuation rates of prosurvival and proapoptotic signals emanating from an oncoprotein acutely following its inactivation. According to this model, which we call  oncogenic shock,  prosurvival signals dissipate quickly on oncoprotein inactivation whereas proapoptotic signals linger sufficiently long to commit the cell to an apoptotic death.  