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Updated: Aug 8, 2025

Comparative Lesions Analysis Through a Targeted Sequencing Approach
Published on: November 5, 2019
Clonal selection parallels between normal and cancer tissues
Adrian Salavaty1, Esmaeel Azadian2, Shalin H Naik2
1Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Systems Biology Institute Australia, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
Abstract:
Clonal selection and drift drive both normal tissue and cancer development. However, the biological mechanisms and environmental conditions underpinning these processes remain to be elucidated. Clonal selection models are centered in Darwinian evolutionary theory, where some clones with the fittest features are selected and populate the tissue or tumor. We suggest that different subclasses of stem cells, each of which is responsible for a distinct feature of the selection process, share common features between normal and cancer conditions. While active stem cells populate the tissue, dormant cells account for tissue replenishment/regeneration in both normal and cancerous tissues. We also discuss potential mechanisms that drive clonal drift, their interactions with clonal selection, and their similarities during normal and cancer tissue development.
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