Cancer - An Insurgency of Clones

David Gisselsson; Robert Egnell

doi:10.1016/j.trecan.2016.11.010

Cancer - An Insurgency of Clones

Trends Cancer. 2017 Feb;3(2):73-75. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2016.11.010. Epub 2016 Dec 23.

Authors

David Gisselsson¹, Robert Egnell²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Clinical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Division of Oncology and Pathology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Department of Pathology, Skåne University and Regional Laboratories, Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: david.gisselsson_nord@med.lu.se.
² Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership, Swedish Defence University, Stockholm, Sweden.

PMID: 28718446
DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2016.11.010

Abstract

Oncological therapy resembles a military force that eliminates the central power of a country (dominant clone of a cancer) to create a vacuum where insurgents (subclones) thrive and instigate rebellion (relapse). We suggest that military counterinsurgency doctrine can inspire a discussion of cancer that uniquely embraces both cancer cell evolution and tumour microenvironment.

Keywords: cancer; counterinsurgency; evolution; microenvironment.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Clonal Evolution / genetics*
Clone Cells / pathology*
Humans
Neoplasms / genetics*
Neoplasms / pathology
Neoplasms / therapy
Tumor Microenvironment / genetics