Evolutionary ecology in tumor evolution: concept, application and innovation

Tumor itself is a complex microecosystem, with complex spatio-temporal dynamics and multi-dimensional interactions. Its unimaginable heterogeneity and evolvability have exceeded the cognition of traditional oncology medicine. How to systematically characterize the whole tumor cell ecosystem from the dynamics and interaction of material, energy and signal levels, in order to explore new cognition, new rules and new therapies for the occurrence and development of tumors, is a new proposition and goal of tumor ecology. In this review, we discuss the origin, occurrence and development of tumors from the perspective of evolutionary ecology. First, we discuss the application of some classical concepts of ecology with tumor evolution. Subsequently, through the integration of the frontier papers of tumor ecology, we highlight the importance of ecological interactions on the occurrence and development of tumors from multiple levels, such as between cancer cells, between cancer cells and other normal somatic cells, and the tumor ecosystem. Finally, we propose the concept of tumor cell ecosystem, discussed how to characterize the entire tumor ecosystem from the system theory and proposed possible innovative treatment directions.