Cancer: Evolution Within a Lifetime
- 23 November 2014
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Annual Reviews in Annual Review of Genetics
- Vol. 48 (1), 215-236
- https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-120213-092314
Abstract
Subclonal cancer populations change spatially and temporally during the disease course. Studies are revealing branched evolutionary cancer growth with low-frequency driver events present in subpopulations of cells, providing escape mechanisms for targeted therapeutic approaches. Despite such complexity, evidence is emerging for parallel evolution of subclones, mediated through distinct somatic events converging on the same gene, signal transduction pathway, or protein complex in different subclones within the same tumor. Tumors may follow gradualist paths (microevolution) as well as major shifts in evolutionary trajectories (macroevolution). Although macroevolution has been subject to considerable controversy in post-Darwinian evolutionary theory, we review evidence that such nongradual, saltatory leaps, driven through chromosomal rearrangements or genome doubling, may be particularly relevant to tumor evolution. Adapting cancer care to the challenges imposed by tumor micro- and macroevolution and developing deeper insight into parallel evolutionary events may prove central to improving outcome and reducing drug development costs.Keywords
This publication has 100 references indexed in Scilit:
- Deciphering Signatures of Mutational Processes Operative in Human CancerCell Reports, 2013
- The Origin and Evolution of Mutations in Acute Myeloid LeukemiaCell, 2012
- Mutational Processes Molding the Genomes of 21 Breast CancersCell, 2012
- The Life History of 21 Breast CancersCell, 2012
- Single-Cell Exome Sequencing Reveals Single-Nucleotide Mutation Characteristics of a Kidney TumorCell, 2012
- Chromosome Catastrophes Involve Replication Mechanisms Generating Complex Genomic RearrangementsCell, 2011
- Massive Genomic Rearrangement Acquired in a Single Catastrophic Event during Cancer DevelopmentCell, 2011
- Integrative Genomic Profiling of Human Prostate CancerCancer Cell, 2010
- Persistent Telomere Damage Induces Bypass of Mitosis and TetraploidyCell, 2010
- Genome based cell population heterogeneity promotes tumorigenicity: The evolutionary mechanism of cancerJournal of Cellular Physiology, 2008