Applying ecological and evolutionary theory to cancer: A long and winding road

Frédéric Thomas, Daniel Fisher, Philippe Fort, Jean Pierre Marie, Simon Daoust, Benjamin Roche, Christoph Grunau, Céline Cosseau, Guillaume Mitta, Stephen Baghdiguian, François Rousset, Patrice Lassus, Eric Assenat, Damien Grégoire, Dorothée Missé, Alexander Lorz, Frédérique Billy, William Vainchenker, François Delhommeau, Serge KoscielnyRaphael Itzykson, Ruoping Tang, Fanny Fava, Annabelle Ballesta, Thomas Lepoutre, Liliana Krasinska, Vjekoslav Dulic, Peggy Raynaud, Philippe Blache, Corinne Quittau-Prevostel, Emmanuel Vignal, Hélène Trauchessec, Benoit Perthame, Jean Clairambault, Vitali Volpert, Eric Solary, Urszula Hibner, Michael E. Hochberg

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    57 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Since the mid 1970s, cancer has been described as a process of Darwinian evolution, with somatic cellular selection and evolution being the fundamental processes leading to malignancy and its many manifestations (neoangiogenesis, evasion of the immune system, metastasis, and resistance to therapies). Historically, little attention has been placed on applications of evolutionary biology to understanding and controlling neoplastic progression and to prevent therapeutic failures. This is now beginning to change, and there is a growing international interest in the interface between cancer and evolutionary biology. The objective of this introduction is first to describe the basic ideas and concepts linking evolutionary biology to cancer. We then present four major fronts where the evolutionary perspective is most developed, namely laboratory and clinical models, mathematical models, databases, and techniques and assays. Finally, we discuss several of the most promising challenges and future prospects in this interdisciplinary research direction in the war against cancer.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-10
    Number of pages10
    JournalEvolutionary Applications
    Volume6
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2013

    Keywords

    • Cancer, disease biology
    • Evolutionary medicine
    • Evolutionary theory

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