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Molecular Biology and Evolution of Cancer: From Discovery to Action

  • Jason A. Somarelli
  • , Heather Gardner
  • , Vincent L. Cannataro
  • , Ella F. Gunady
  • , Amy M. Boddy
  • , Norman A. Johnson
  • , Jeffrey Nicholas Fisk
  • , Stephen G. Gaffney
  • , Jeffrey H. Chuang
  • , Sheng Li
  • , Francesca D. Ciccarelli
  • , Anna R. Panchenko
  • , Kate Megquier
  • , Sudhir Kumar
  • , Alex Dornburg
  • , James Degregori
  • , Jeffrey P. Townsend
  • Duke University
  • Tufts University
  • Emmanuel College
  • University of California at Santa Barbara
  • University of Massachusetts
  • Yale University
  • Jackson Laboratory
  • The Francis Crick Institute
  • King's College London
  • Queen's University Kingston
  • Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Temple University
  • North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences
  • University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cancer progression is an evolutionary process. During this process, evolving cancer cell populations encounter restrictive ecological niches within the body, such as the primary tumor, circulatory system, and diverse metastatic sites. Efforts to prevent or delay cancer evolution - and progression - require a deep understanding of the underlying molecular evolutionary processes. Herein we discuss a suite of concepts and tools from evolutionary and ecological theory that can inform cancer biology in new and meaningful ways. We also highlight current challenges to applying these concepts, and propose ways in which incorporating these concepts could identify new therapeutic modes and vulnerabilities in cancer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)320-326
Number of pages7
JournalMolecular Biology and Evolution
Volume37
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2020

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • Disease Progression
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Genetic Fitness
  • Genomics/methods
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms/genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Stem Cell Niche

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