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Tumor Progression

Tumor Progression

Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...

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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Tracking Tumor Cell Dissemination from Lung Metastases Using Photoconversion

Tracking Tumor Cell Dissemination from Lung Metastases Using Photoconversion

Published on: July 7, 2023

Tracing the tumor lineage.

Nicholas E Navin¹, James Hicks

¹Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA. navin@cshl.edu

Molecular Oncology

|June 12, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Understanding tumor progression is key to cancer treatment. Researchers infer tumor evolution from genomic mutations using inter-tumor and intra-tumor comparisons, with single-cell genomics offering new insights.

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Area of Science:

Oncology
Genomics
Cancer Biology

Background:

Defining cancer progression pathways is crucial for effective treatment.
Current research often infers tumor progression from single samples due to limited longitudinal patient data.
Tumor genomes retain a historical record of mutations, enabling retrospective analysis of progression.

Purpose of the Study:

To discuss methods for reconstructing tumor progression lineages.
To interpret existing models of tumor progression.
To investigate the final stages of breast cancer progression using genomic data.

Main Methods:

Utilizing inter-tumor comparisons by analyzing genomes from large tumor collections to identify mutation timing.
Employing intra-tumor comparisons through multi-sampling of heterogeneous tumors to reconstruct phylogenetic lineages.
Comparing copy number profiles of primary and metastatic tumors.

Main Results:

The study discusses the application of inter- and intra-tumor comparison approaches for inferring cancer progression.
Analysis of primary and metastatic copy number profiles provides insights into late-stage breast cancer evolution.
The potential of single-cell genomics to revolutionize the study of tumor heterogeneity and progression is highlighted.

Conclusions:

Inter- and intra-tumor comparisons are valuable methods for understanding cancer evolution despite limitations in sampling.
Comparative genomic analysis, particularly of primary and metastatic sites, aids in deciphering critical steps in cancer progression.
Advancements in single-cell genomics promise unprecedented understanding of tumor heterogeneity and the fundamental mechanisms driving cancer progression.