Lucie Laplane, Anaïs Lamoureux, Harley I Richker, Gissel Marquez Alcaraz, Angelo Fortunato, Zachary Shaffer, Athena Aktipis, Paul S Mischel, Anya Plutynski, Jeffrey P Townsend, Carlo C Maley
{"title":"Applying multilevel selection to understand cancer evolution and progression.","authors":"Lucie Laplane, Anaïs Lamoureux, Harley I Richker, Gissel Marquez Alcaraz, Angelo Fortunato, Zachary Shaffer, Athena Aktipis, Paul S Mischel, Anya Plutynski, Jeffrey P Townsend, Carlo C Maley","doi":"10.1371/journal.pbio.3003290","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Natural selection occurs at multiple levels of organization in cancer. At an organismal level, natural selection has led to the evolution of diverse tumor suppression mechanisms, while at a cellular level, it favors traits that promote cellular proliferation, survival and cancer. Natural selection also occurs at a subcellular level, among collections of cells and even among collections of organisms; selection at these levels could influence the evolution of cancer and cancer suppression mechanisms, affecting cancer risk and treatment strategies. There may also be cancer-like processes happening at different levels of organization, in which uncontrolled proliferation at lower levels may disrupt a higher level of organization. This Essay examines how selection operates across levels, highlighting how we might leverage this understanding to improve cancer research, prevention and treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":49001,"journal":{"name":"PLoS Biology","volume":"23 7","pages":"e3003290"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"PLoS Biology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003290","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Agricultural and Biological Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Natural selection occurs at multiple levels of organization in cancer. At an organismal level, natural selection has led to the evolution of diverse tumor suppression mechanisms, while at a cellular level, it favors traits that promote cellular proliferation, survival and cancer. Natural selection also occurs at a subcellular level, among collections of cells and even among collections of organisms; selection at these levels could influence the evolution of cancer and cancer suppression mechanisms, affecting cancer risk and treatment strategies. There may also be cancer-like processes happening at different levels of organization, in which uncontrolled proliferation at lower levels may disrupt a higher level of organization. This Essay examines how selection operates across levels, highlighting how we might leverage this understanding to improve cancer research, prevention and treatment.
期刊介绍:
PLOS Biology is the flagship journal of the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and focuses on publishing groundbreaking and relevant research in all areas of biological science. The journal features works at various scales, ranging from molecules to ecosystems, and also encourages interdisciplinary studies. PLOS Biology publishes articles that demonstrate exceptional significance, originality, and relevance, with a high standard of scientific rigor in methodology, reporting, and conclusions.
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