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Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell02:21

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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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Cancer evolution: Darwin and beyond.

Roberto Vendramin1, Kevin Litchfield1, Charles Swanton1,2

  • 1Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, University College London Cancer Institute, London, UK.

The EMBO Journal
|August 30, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cancer evolution is more complex than Darwinian gradualism suggests. Macroevolutionary events, neutral evolution, and aging influence tumor development, offering new therapeutic targets.

Keywords:
cancercancer evolutioncancer therapytumour heterogeneity

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Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Branched evolution is a known feature of cancer, typically explained by somatic selection.
  • A purely Darwinian model of gradualism may not fully account for all aspects of cancer evolution.
  • Recent theories highlight the role of aging in carcinogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review concepts that extend beyond Darwinian evolution to explain cancer.
  • To discuss macroevolutionary events and neutral evolution in cancer.
  • To identify clinical opportunities arising from non-Darwinian cancer evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical and laboratory studies.
  • Analysis of macroevolutionary events (e.g., whole-genome doubling, chromopty).
  • Consideration of neutral evolution and age-dependent carcinogenesis theories.

Main Results:

  • Cancer evolution involves macroevolutionary events contradicting gradualism.
  • Neutral evolution plays a role in some tumors, challenging constant selection.
  • Aging is increasingly recognized as a factor in cancer development.
  • These factors collectively suggest a model beyond Darwinian evolution.

Conclusions:

  • Cancer evolution requires a model that incorporates non-Darwinian processes.
  • Understanding these complex evolutionary patterns reveals new vulnerabilities.
  • Targeting these vulnerabilities presents novel clinical opportunities for cancer treatment.