Open AccessThe three dimensions of somatic evolution: Integrating the role of genetic damage, life‐history traits, and aging in carcinogenesis
Author(s) -
Rozhok Andrii I.,
DeGregori James
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
evolutionary applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 68
ISSN - 1752-4571
DOI - 10.1111/eva.12947
Subject(s) - biology , epigenetics , longevity , evolutionary biology , somatic evolution in cancer , somatic cell , carcinogenesis , genetics , cancer , dominance (genetics) , mutation accumulation , mutation rate , gene
Abstract Tumors result from genetic and epigenetic alterations that change cellular survival and differentiation probabilities, promoting clonal dominance. Subsequent genetic and selection processes in tumors allow cells to lose their tissue fidelity and migrate to other parts of the body, turning tumors into cancer. However, the relationship between genetic damage and cancer is not linear, showing remarkable and sometimes seemingly counterintuitive patterns for different tissues and across animal taxa. In the present paper, we attempt to integrate our understanding of somatic evolution and cancer as a product of three major orthogonal processes: occurrence of somatic mutations, evolution of species‐specific life‐history traits, and physiological aging. Patterns of cancer risk have been shaped by selective pressures experienced by animal populations over millions of years, influencing and influenced by selection acting on traits ranging from mutation rate to reproductive strategies to longevity. We discuss how evolution of species shapes their cancer profiles alongside and in connection with other evolving life‐history traits and how this process explains the patterns of cancer incidence we observe in humans and other animals.