A human oncogene, mcf3, previously detected by a combination of DNA-mediated gene transfer and a tumorigenicity assay, derives from a human homology of the avian v-ros oncogene. Both v-ros and mcf3 can encode a protein with homology to tyrosine-specific protein kinases, and both mcf3 and v-ros encode a potential transmembrane domain N terminal to the kinase domain. mcf3 probably arose during gene transfer from a normal human ros gene by the loss of a putative extracellular domain. There do not appear to be any other gross rearrangements in the structure of mcf3.