Cancer: an emergent property of disturbed resource‐rich environments? Ecology meets personalized medicine

Evolutionary Applications

Hugo Ducasse⁵  Audrey Arnal⁵  Marion Vittecoq⁵  Simon P. Daoust¹  Beata Ujvari⁹  Camille Jacqueline⁵  Tazzio Tissot⁵  Paul Ewald⁸  Robert A. Gatenby⁶  Kayla C. King⁷  François Bonhomme²  Jacques Brodeur⁴  François Renaud⁵  Eric Solary³  Benjamin Roche⁵ 

[1] Department of Biology, John Abbott College, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada;ISEM Institut des sciences de l'évolution, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS/IRD/UM2 UMR 5554, Montpellier Cedex, France;INSERM U1009, Université Paris-Sud, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France;Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada;MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290, Montpellier Cedex 5, France;Department of Radiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA;Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;Department of Biology and the Program on Disease Evolution, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA;Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Vic., Australia

关键词: biomedicine;    cancer;    disease biology;    evolutionary medicine;   

DOI  :  10.1111/eva.12232

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

For an increasing number of biologists, cancer is viewed as a dynamic system governed by evolutionary and ecological principles. Throughout most of human history, cancer was an uncommon cause of death and it is generally accepted that common components of modern culture, including increased physiological stresses and caloric intake, favor cancer development. However, the precise mechanisms for this linkage are not well understood. Here, we examine the roles of ecological and physiological disturbances and resource availability on the emergence of cancer in multicellular organisms. We argue that proliferation of ‘profiteering phenotypes’ is often an emergent property of disturbed, resource-rich environments at all scales of biological organization. We review the evidence for this phenomenon, explore it within the context of malignancy, and discuss how this ecological framework may offer a theoretical background for novel strategies of cancer prevention. This work provides a compelling argument that the traditional separation between medicine and evolutionary ecology remains a fundamental limitation that needs to be overcome if complex processes, such as oncogenesis, are to be completely understood.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 The Authors. Evolutionary Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.