Targeting developmental reprogramming: hPSC insights for cancer interception.

Abstract

Cancer is increasingly conceptualized as a disease of distorted human development, where oncogenic events trigger developmental reprogramming by subverting physiological lineage programs. Conventional cancer models often fail to capture this early transition, as they primarily reflect end-stage tumors or nonhuman biology. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) circumvent these limitations by enabling the reconstruction of oncogenic events within precisely defined human developmental trajectories. In this review, we examine emerging principles of lineage bias and differentiation arrest revealed by hPSC-derived models across brain, retinal, and myeloid malignancies, as well as hereditary cancer predispositions. Crucially, we discuss how these models reveal therapeutic windows linked to defined developmental states to reverse lineage hijacking, translating developmental insights into pharmacological strategies for early cancer interception.