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Of cancer and cave fish

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Abstract

We propose that the drivers of carcinogenesis lie more in the adaptive changes that are enabled by local or systemic alterations of tissue architecture than in the genetic changes observed in cancer cells. A full understanding of cancer biology and therapy through a cataloguing of the cancer genome is unlikely unless it is integrated into an evolutionary and ecological context.

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Acknowledgements

Grant Support: 1U54CA143970-01

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert A. Gatenby and Robert J. Gillies are at the Departments of Radiology and Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA.,

    Robert A. Gatenby & Robert J. Gillies

  2. Joel S. Brown is at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA.,

    Joel S. Brown

Authors
  1. Robert A. Gatenby
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  2. Robert J. Gillies
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  3. Joel S. Brown
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Correspondence to Robert A. Gatenby.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Gatenby, R., Gillies, R. & Brown, J. Of cancer and cave fish. Nat Rev Cancer 11, 237–238 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3036

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