Marek Kimmel
Biology Direct 2010, 5:29doi:10.1186/1745-6150-5-29
Published: 20 April 2010
Abstract (provisional)
This thematic series is concerned with various ways Evolution is intertwined with cancer. A group of cancer researchers and mathematical modelers, with an interest in the subject, was invited to contribute papers on topics ranging from carcinogenesis through progression of cancer through therapy. The resulting collection of ten papers is briefly introduced below. Publication of the series was planned to coincide with Darwin's Year, 2009, however various obstacles delayed publication. Mathematical modeling of processes related to cancer evolution has come of age. What used to be a mathematical metaphor or speculation, has become progressively more infused with genetic and biological details and is reconcilable with epidemiology of a given cancer. The seminal biological discoveries, which lead to paradigm changes in modeling, include the concept of cancerization field, which puts into question the clonal carcinogenesis. Another set of discoveries includes genes with key roles in the regulation of DNA repair and genome expression that are often mutated in cancers, such as BRCA1, BRCA2 or P53, and understanding signaling pathways disrupted by mutations in these genes. Still another category of findings concerns tumor metabolism, which includes cell functioning under anoxic conditions. Finally, the understanding of structural issues such as vascularization of solid tumors, mechanisms of metastasis and invasion and emergence of resistance brought a totally different perspective on modeling of cancer growth and progression. In all these processes, well-known evolutionary forces such as mutation and selection play major roles. They are modulated and channeled both by the natural environment in which tumors exist, but also by medical intervention. A review of current work on modeling of the role evolution plays in cancer is the subject of the Thematic Series. We briefly review the papers, assigning them idiosyncratically to 3 different categories.
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