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Updated: Nov 5, 2025
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A Protocol for Genetic Induction and Visualization of Benign and Invasive Tumors in Cephalic Complexes of Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: September 11, 2013
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Cancer progression as a sequence of atavistic reversions
Charles H Lineweaver1,2, Kimberly J Bussey3,4, Anneke C Blackburn5
1Planetary Science Institute, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics & Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Summary
Cancer involves a reversion to ancestral unicellular states, not just once, but through multiple evolutionary transitions. This refined atavistic model offers new predictions for cancer progression and genomic analysis.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Cancer research
- Genomics
Background:
- Cancer is recognized as a reversion to an ancestral unicellular phenotype.
- The atavistic model of cancer uses genomic data for quantitative analysis and predictions.
- Phylostratigraphy has supported the multicellular-to-unicellular reversion concept in cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose that cancer involves a series of reversionary transitions, not a single event.
- To generate new predictions based on key evolutionary transitions in eukaryotic lineage.
- To suggest modifications in phylostratigraphy for improved age resolution in testing predictions.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing phylostratigraphy to analyze genomic data.
- Applying the atavistic model of cancer.
- Developing new predictions based on evolutionary chronology.
Main Results:
- Cancer progression is better described as a series of reversionary transitions.
- New predictions are formulated based on the unicellular-eukaryote-to-multicellular-eukaryote transition.
- Further predictions are derived from eukaryogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and adaptive immunity transitions.
Conclusions:
- Cancer's evolutionary basis is more complex than a single reversion.
- The proposed model and modified phylostratigraphy can offer testable predictions for cancer research.
- Understanding these evolutionary transitions provides insights into cancer onset and progression.
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