Open AccessHuman cancer, the naked mole rat and faunal turnovers
Author(s) -
Bredberg Anders,
Schmitz Birger
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
cancer medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 2045-7634
DOI - 10.1002/cam4.2011
Subject(s) - cancer , mole , offspring , biology , resistance (ecology) , evolutionary biology , zoology , ecology , demography , genetics , biochemistry , sociology , pregnancy
We argue that the human evolutionary heritage with frequent adaptations through geological time to environmental change has affected a trade‐off between offspring variability and cancer resistance, and thus favored cancer‐prone individuals. We turn the attention to a factor setting the highly cancer‐resistant naked mole rat apart from most other mammals: it has remained phenotypically largely unchanged since 30‐50 million years ago. Research focusing on DNA stability mechanisms in ‘living fossil’ animals may help us find tools for cancer prevention and treatment.