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Related Concept Videos

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell

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Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
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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.
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Cancer02:18

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Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.
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The Tumor Microenvironment02:17

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Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
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Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Processing of Primary Brain Tumor Tissue for Stem Cell Assays and Flow Sorting
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[Stochastic phenomena and the tumoral process].

Jean-Pascal Capp1

  • 1INSA/Université de Toulouse, LISBP, UMR CNRS 5504, UMR INRA 792, 135, avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4, France.

Medecine Sciences : M/S
|July 12, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Cancer initiation may involve stochastic genetic, epigenetic, and gene expression variations. An alternative theory emphasizes cell-cell interactions and tissue-level interplay, moving beyond reductionist genetic explanations for cancer development.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Genetics
  • Epigenetics
  • Systems Biology

Context:

  • The dominant reductionist view attributes cancer initiation to genetic mutations.
  • Cancer genome sequencing reveals significant tumor heterogeneity, challenging purely genetic origins.
  • Stochastic processes, including epigenetic modifications and gene expression variability, are increasingly recognized in cancer.

Purpose:

  • To explore stochastic phenomena beyond genetic mutations in cancer initiation and progression.
  • To propose an alternative, non-reductionist theory for cancer development.
  • To highlight the role of cell-cell interactions and tissue-level dynamics.

Summary:

  • Genetic modifications are traditionally viewed as cancer initiators, but their stochastic nature and tumor heterogeneity raise questions.

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  • Epigenetic modifications and stochastic variations in gene expression offer alternative or complementary explanations for cancer phenotypes.
  • An integrated theory considers the interplay between genetic, epigenetic, and gene expression factors at cellular and tissue levels, avoiding a single privileged organizational level.

    • Impact:

    • Challenges the purely reductionist genetic model of cancer.
    • Provides a broader framework for understanding cancer initiation and heterogeneity.
    • Suggests new avenues for cancer research focusing on systems-level interactions and variability.