Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Somatic selection for and against cancer.

Franziska Michor1, Steven A Frank, Robert M May

  • 1Program in Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

Journal of Theoretical Biology
|November 8, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Tissue architecture impacts cancer. Small compartments limit mutation spread but increase instability. An optimal compartment size balances cancer risk by considering both beneficial and harmful mutations.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Targeted degradation of MDM2 overcomes feedback regulation of p53 signaling in Merkel cell carcinoma models.

The Journal of clinical investigation·2026
Same author

ESR1 mutations and CDK4/6 inhibitor choice shape clonal selection and adaptive cell states during acquired resistance.

Genome medicine·2026
Same author

A pan-cancer single-cell analysis of intratumoral copy number diversity and evolution.

Cancer discovery·2026
Same author

H3K27M-driven hypertranscription leads to a new targetable dependency in diffuse midline gliomas.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network: Bridging the Gap between Biological Research and Clinical Practice.

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research·2026
Same author

HER2 heterogeneous breast cancer models reveal novel therapeutic targets and subclonal dynamics during evolution to resistance to HER2-targeted therapies.

Cancer discovery·2026

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Cancer research

Background:

  • Multicellular organisms rely on cellular cooperation governed by developmental programs.
  • Cancer arises from a loss of this cooperation, characterized by uncoordinated cellular proliferation.
  • Somatic selection plays a dual role in cancer initiation by promoting advantageous mutations and eliminating deleterious ones.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how the architecture of solid tissues influences cancer initiation rates.
  • To explore the mechanisms by which somatic selection prevents or promotes cancer.
  • To determine the impact of tissue compartmentalization on cancer risk.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of cellular proliferation and mutation dynamics.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of somatic selection pressures within tissue structures.
  • Simulation of genetic instability and its spread in compartmentalized tissues.

    • Main Results:

    • Tissue compartmentalization can impede the rapid dissemination of oncogenic mutations.
    • Small tissue compartments may paradoxically promote genetic instability through random drift.
    • An intermediate tissue compartment size appears optimal when both deleterious and advantageous mutations contribute to tumor initiation.

    Conclusions:

    • Tissue architecture, specifically compartmentalization, is a critical factor in regulating cancer initiation.
    • Somatic selection's effect on cancer risk is context-dependent, influenced by mutation type and tissue organization.
    • Understanding optimal tissue architecture could inform strategies for cancer prevention.