Evolutionary determinants of cancer.
1Centre for Evolution and Cancer, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom. mel.greaves@icr.ac.uk.
Cancer Discovery
|July 22, 2015
Summary
Cancer
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Cancer biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Cancer's complexity and adaptability stem from its dynamic ecosystem.
- Genetic diversity and epigenetic plasticity contribute to therapeutic resilience.
- Multicellularity inherently carries mutation-driven escape risks, balanced by species-level restraints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore cancer's clonal diversity, drug resistance, and causation through an evolutionary lens.
- To understand how evolutionary principles can inform cancer control strategies.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis integrating evolutionary principles with cancer biology.
- Examination of cancer as an adaptive ecosystem.
Main Results:
- Advanced cancer exhibits therapeutic resilience due to its adaptive, diverse, and plastic nature.
- Human activities have significantly increased intrinsic cancer risk.
- Evolutionary principles offer insights into cancer robustness and high population risk.
Conclusions:
- An evolutionary perspective is crucial for understanding cancer robustness and high population risk.
- This framework may reveal novel strategies for more effective cancer control.
- Lifetime cancer risk is high, and drug resistance is common in advanced disease.
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