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The many faces of cancer evolution
Giovanni Ciriello1,2, Luca Magnani3
1Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Iscience
|May 24, 2021
Summary
Cancer cells evolve through genetic changes and cell plasticity. Understanding cell plasticity, like epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, is key to overcoming tumor progression and treatment resistance.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Cancer cells undergo genetic and phenotypic changes during disease progression.
- Tumor evolution is driven by genetic variants and cell plasticity.
- Cell plasticity allows tumors to adapt to environmental pressures and treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of cell plasticity in tumor evolution.
- To examine epigenetic and transcriptional reprogramming in cancer progression and treatment resistance.
- To discuss how technological advances can address challenges in studying cell plastic evolution.
Main Methods:
- Perspective review of existing literature.
- Analysis of cell plasticity through examples like epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).
- Discussion of endocrine therapy resistance in hormone-driven cancers.
Main Results:
- Cell plasticity, including EMT, contributes to solid tumor progression.
- Plastic reprogramming is implicated in endocrine therapy resistance.
- Technological advancements offer new ways to study cancer evolution.
Conclusions:
- Cancer evolution is a complex, multi-faceted process.
- Cell plasticity is a critical driver of tumor adaptation and resistance.
- A diverse range of approaches is needed to understand and target cancer evolution.
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