Cancer risk landscapes: A framework to study cancer in ecosystems

Abstract

Cancer is a family of diseases that has been documented in most metazoan species and ecosystems. Human induced environmental changes are increasingly exposing wildlife to carcinogenic risk factors, and negative repercussions on ecosystems and on the conservation of endangered species are already been observed. It is therefore of key importance to understand the spatiotemporal variability of those risk factors and how they interact with the biosphere to mitigate their effects. Here we introduce the concept of cancer risk landscape that can be applied to understand how species are exposed to, interact with, and modify cancer risk factors. With this publication we aim to provide a framework in order to stimulate a discussion on how to mitigate cancer-causing risk factors.

Keywords: Biotelemetry; Ecosystem disturbance; Epidemiology; Landscape ecology; Oncology; Remote sensing.