Why viewing cancer as an ecosystem could lead to better treatments

[Pelican Press 0]

Why viewing ******* as an ecosystem could lead to better treatments

A ******* cell and two immune cells

STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy

******* is a ********, or group of *********, in which some cells proliferate uncontrollably and can spread to other parts of the body. But that description doesn’t reflect how our conception of ******* has changed, says

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at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. “People used to view ******* as sort of bad luck: the ******* would just change over time and we didn’t really understand why, or how, or what was driving those changes.”

In the past few years, however, Pienta and others have come to see cancers as akin to organisms themselves, existing in complex ecosystems alongside other ******* cells and host immune cells. ******* cells compete for access to nutrients, and only the fittest survive. “******* evolves in response to changes in its environment,” says Pienta. “If it didn’t, it would ****.”

Ultimately, this is the reason why ******* ****** so many people. ******* cells divide rapidly, so random mutations occur often and any that confer an advantage are quickly selected for. “They’re evolving to become the best ******* cell they can become and that typically is bad news for the patient,” says

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co-director of the ******* Biology and Evolution Program at the Moffitt ******* Center in Florida.

What’s more, the hardiest cells are better at getting into the bloodstream and spreading to other parts of the body, a process known as metastasis. “We have got good drugs and initial therapies for most types of cancers,” says Gatenby. “But in the metastatic…

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******* ,evolution,ecosystem
#viewing #******* #ecosystem #lead #treatments

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