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Evolutionary biology of cancer

Mel Greaves

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Wellcome Trust (WT)
We believe that the essential character of cancer is best understood as a complex adaptive system. Its essential feature is evolutionary resilience or robustness of cellular phenotypes. This derives from two sources: the inherent phenotypic plasticity of somatic cells and the acquisition of stable cellular fitness traits via genetic diversification and environmental selection, akin to evolution by natural selection. We have established a research centre focused on evolution and cancer, with in which scientists from different disciplines (mathematics, bioinformatics, mainstream evolutionary biology, ecology, cell biology, genomics and clinical oncology) collectively build on the fundamental theory of cancer biology and translate this into more effective prognostication and treatment. Our major objectives are ambitious but achievable: (i) To help establish evolutionary biology as an essential foundation for cancer sciences; (ii) To use the tools of evolutionary biology to capture the dynamic clonal changes in cancer over time and to use quantitative measures of the evolutionary process to predict future progression of disease or emergence of drug resistance; (iii) To interact with drug development and therapeutics teams at the ICR to develop novel treatment strategies that exploit evolutionary principles and prevent therapeutic resistance.

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