
Ecology and Evolution of Cancer
- 1st Edition - February 8, 2017
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Editors: Beata Ujvari, Benjamin Roche, Frederic Thomas
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 4 3 1 0 - 3
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 4 3 8 0 - 6
Ecology and Evolution of Cancer is a timely work outlining ideas that not only represent a substantial and original contribution to the fields of evolution, ecology, and cancer, b… Read more

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Request a sales quoteEcology and Evolution of Cancer is a timely work outlining ideas that not only represent a substantial and original contribution to the fields of evolution, ecology, and cancer, but also goes beyond by connecting the interfaces of these disciplines. This work engages the expertise of a multidisciplinary research team to collate and review the latest knowledge and developments in this exciting research field.
The evolutionary perspective of cancer has gained significant international recognition and interest, which is fully understandable given that somatic cellular selection and evolution are elegant explanations for carcinogenesis. Cancer is now generally accepted to be an evolutionary and ecological process with complex interactions between tumor cells and their environment sharing many similarities with organismal evolution. As a critical contribution to this field of research the book is important and relevant for the applications of evolutionary biology to understand the origin of cancers, to control neoplastic progression, and to prevent therapeutic failures.
- Covers all aspects of the evolution of cancer, appealing to researchers seeking to understand its origins and effects of treatments on its progression, as well as to lecturers in evolutionary medicine
- Functions as both an introduction to cancer and evolution and a review of the current research on this burgeoning, exciting field, presented by an international group of leading editors and contributors
- Improves understanding of the origin and the evolution of cancer, aiding efforts to determine how this disease interferes with biotic interactions that govern ecosystems
- Highlights research that intends to apply evolutionary principles to help predict emergence and metastatic progression with the aim of improving therapies
A broad international audience that includes medical, animal, cancer, evolutionary biology and ecology researchers, as well as students and academics in these areas
Chapter 1: The Evolutionary Origins of Cancer and of Its Control by Immune Policing and Genetic Suppression
- Abstract
- Lineage selection
- Immune system policing
- Cancer suppression
- Evolution and Peto’s paradox
- Why does cancer persist?
- Conclusions
Chapter 2: Cancer Prevalence and Etiology in Wild and Captive Animals
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Cancer prevalence and etiology in wild vertebrates
- Cancer etiology and prevalence in French zoological parks
- Discussion
- Concluding remarks
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 3: Infection and Cancer in Nature
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Infectious causes of cancer
- Findings suggestive of pathogen-induced cancer in nature
- Associations between nonmalignant neoplasia and cancer
- Joint contributions to oncogenesis
- A broadening scope for interventions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 4: Pseudohypoxia: Life at the Edge
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Distinguishing pseudohypoxia from hypoxia
- Pseudohypoxia: tumor edge versus core
- Modeling of pseudohypoxia
- Pseudohypoxia at the microscopic level
- Tumor edge
- Tumor core
- Conclusions
Chapter 5: The Genomic Landscape of Cancers
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Key features and challenges of the cancer genomic landscape
- Genome theory of somatic cell evolution
- Implications and future directions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 6: The Epigenetic Component in Cancer Evolution
- Abstract
- The genotype × environment concept
- DNA methylation
- Histone modifications
- Nuclear topography and noncoding RNA
- Conclusions
Chapter 7: Evolution of Cancer Defense Mechanisms Across Species
- Abstract
- Mechanisms of cancer suppression: organismal, microenvironmental, and molecular
- A life history perspective: organismal level trade-offs in cancer suppression
- Conclusions
Chapter 8: Coevolution of Tumor Cells and Their Microenvironment: “Niche Construction in Cancer”
- Abstract
- Introduction
- The consequences of tumor-stroma metabolic compartmentation and collaboration
- Conclusions
Chapter 9: Evolutionary Perspective of Tumorigenesis and Antitumor Immunity: A Comparative Approach
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Immunology of cancer
- Strategies of tumor immune evasion
- Immunoediting
- Tumors in invertebrates and ectothermic vertebrates
- Evolution of immunity and tumor immunity
- Immunotherapies
- Overview of animal model system used to investigate the role of immune system in cancer
- Amphibians as model systems to explore the evolutionary conservation of tumor immunity
- The Xenopus immune system
- Transplantable thymic lymphoid tumor cell lines
- Tumor immunity in X. laevis
- Conservation of antitumor properties of heat shock proteins
- Conserved roles of nonclassical MHC and innate T cells in tumor immunity
- Xenopus tadpole tumor model
- Conclusions and perspectives
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 10: The Response of Cancer Cell Populations to Therapies
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Phenotypic plasticity
- Tumor microenvironment
- Summary and outlook on therapeutic strategies
Chapter 11: Ecology of the Metastatic Process
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Introduction to metastasis
- Introduction to invasion ecology
- Metastasis and invasion ecology—a novel framework for clinical treatment?
- What is special about the invasion ecology of cancer cells?
- Filtering concepts as limits to metastatic success
- Subsequent evolution and therapy
- Conclusions
Chapter 12: Transmissible Cancer: The Evolution of Interindividual Metastasis
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Contagious cancers with no underlying infectious etiologies
- Mechanisms involved in cancer transmission
- Tug-of-war: evolution of transmissible cancers and their hosts
- The ecological impact of cancer cells on the hosts’ micro- and macroenvironment
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 13: Cancer in Animals: Reciprocal Feedbacks Between Evolution of Cancer Resistance and Ecosystem Functioning
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Cancer in wildlife: where are we?
- How does natural selection deal with cancer risk?
- Impact of cancer on ecological communities
- Discussion
Chapter 14: Applying Tools From Evolutionary Biology to Cancer Research
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Adapt or die (adaptive therapy)
- All at once it is not always the best thing (the double bind theory)
- No double pain, no double gain (the cost of being resistant)
- Concluding remarks, drawbacks, and future directions
- Section: Perspectives
Chapter 15: Understanding Ancient Legacies to Expose and Exploit Cancer’s Evolutionary Vulnerabilities
- Abstract
- A new light on old paradigms
- Moving forward by looking back
- Exposing and exploiting evolutionary vulnerabilities
- Concluding remarks
Chapter 16: Atavism Theory—An Introductory Discourse
- Abstract
- Introduction
- The nature of cancer
- Therapeutic implications
- Conclusions
Chapter 17: Toward an Ultimate Explanation of Intratumor Heterogeneity
- Abstract
- From cooperation to selfishness and back to (malignant) cooperation
- De novo tumor development—from an individual cell to a cooperating organized system
- Bet-hedging as evolutionary response to unpredictable tumor environment
- Predictions and implications
- Concluding remarks
Chapter 18: Obstacles to the Darwinian Framework of Somatic Cancer Evolution
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Challenge #1: The dominance of gene and mutation-centric paradigms
- Challenge #2: Complex inputs shaping the phenotypes of cancer cells
- Challenge #3: Unique and powerful sources of phenotypic variability
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 19: Cancer as a Disease of Homeostasis: An Angiogenesis Perspective
- Abstract
- Introduction to neovascularization
- Pathological angiogenesis and musical chairs
- Tumor-induced stromal stimulation and time to escape from tumor dormancy
Chapter 20: Dormancy: An Evolutionary Key Phenomenon in Cancer Development
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Dormancy in tumor evolution
- Dormancy in species evolution
- Linking evolutionary concepts to the investigation of tumor dormancy
- Conclusions
Chapter 21: Controlling Rogue Cells in Cancer and Bacterial Infections
- Abstract
- Killing the rogues—sparing the rest
- Preventing resistance to treatment
- Discussion
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 22: Searching for a Cancer-Proof Organism: It’s the Journey That Teaches You About the Destination
- Abstract
- Insights from life history theory
- Body size and cancer risk
- Evolved cancer defenses
- A macroevolutionary perspective
- Since when has cancer been plaguing us?
- Sex and cancer
- Can a cancer-proof organism really exist?
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 23: Ecology, Evolution, and the Cancer Patient
- Acknowledgment
- Edition: 1
- Published: February 8, 2017
- Imprint: Academic Press
- No. of pages: 290
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN: 9780128043103
- eBook ISBN: 9780128043806
BU
Beata Ujvari
BR
Benjamin Roche
FT