Tumorigenesis: It Takes a Village

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Cancer

Specialty Oncology

Date 2015 Jul 10

PMID 26156638

Citations 271

Authors

Doris P Tabassum

Kornelia Polyak

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that most cancers exhibit some degree of intratumour heterogeneity, we are far from understanding the dynamics that operate among subpopulations within tumours. There is growing evidence that cancer cells behave as communities, and increasing attention is now being directed towards the cooperative behaviour of subclones that can influence disease progression. As expected, these interactions can add a greater layer of complexity to therapeutic interventions in heterogeneous tumours, often leading to a poor prognosis. In this Review, we highlight studies that demonstrate such interactions in cancer and postulate ways to overcome them with better-designed therapeutic strategies.

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