This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Molecular Biology. ; Cancer-stem-cell theory states that most, if not all, cancers arise from a stem/uncommitted cell. This theory revolutionised our view to reflect that cancer consists of a hierarchy of cells that mimic normal cell development. Elegant studies of twins who both developed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in childhood revealed that at least two genomic insults are required for cancer to develop. These 'hits' do not appear to confer a growth advantage to cancer cells, nor do cancer cells appear to be better equipped to survive than normal cells. Cancer cells created by investigators by introducing specific genomic insults generally belong to one cell lineage. For example, transgenic mice in which the LIM-only 2 (LMO2, associated with human acute T-lymphoblastic leukaemia) and BCR-ABLp210 (associated with human chronic myeloid leukaemia) oncogenes were active solely within the haematopoietic stem-cell compartment developed T-lymphocyte and neutrophil lineage-restricted leukaemia, respectively. This recapitulated the human form of these diseases. This 'hardwiring' of lineage affiliation, either throughout leukaemic stem cell development or at a particular stage, is different to the behaviour of normal haematopoietic stem cells. While normal cells directly commit to a developmental pathway, they also remain versatile and can develop into a terminally differentiated cell that is not part of the initial lineage. Many cancer stem cells do not have this versatility, and this is an essential difference between normal and cancer stem cells. In this report, we review findings that support this notion. ; This project received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement no. 315902. GB and ISG were Partners within the Marie Curie Initial Training Network DECIDE (decision making within cells and differentiation entity therapies). Research in the ISG group is partially supported by SAF2015-64420-R MINECO/FEDER, UE, RTI2018-093314-B-I00 MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE, Junta de Castilla y León (UIC-017, CSI001U16, and CSI234P18), the German Carreras Foundation (DJCLS R13/26; DJCLS 02R-2016), and the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS)-Germany (FKZ: 3618S32274). ; Peer reviewed
The prerequisite to prevent childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is to decipher its etiology. The current model suggests that infection triggers B-ALL development through induction of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID; also known as AICDA) in precursor B-cells. This evidence has been largely acquired through the use of ex vivo functional studies. However, whether this mechanism governs native non-transplant B-ALL development is unknown. Here we show that, surprisingly, AID genetic deletion does not affect B-ALL development in Pax5-haploinsufficient mice prone to B-ALL upon natural infection exposure. We next test the effect of premature AID expression from earliest pro-B-cell stages in B-cell transformation. The generation of AID off-target mutagenic activity in precursor B-cells does not promote B-ALL. Likewise, known drivers of human B-ALL are not preferentially targeted by AID. Overall these results suggest that infections promote B-ALL through AID-independent mechanisms, providing evidence for a new model of childhood B-ALL development. ; Research in CVD group is partially supported by FEDER, "Miguel Servet" Grant (CP14/00082 - AES 2013–2016) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad), "Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias/Instituto de Salud Carlos III" (PI17/00167). J.H. has been supported by ERAPer Med, the German Cancer AID (Translational Oncology Program 70112951), the DKTK German Cancer Consortium Joint funding program "Targeting MYC" L*10, The German Jose Carreras Foundation (DJCLS 02R/2016), and the Kinderkrebsstiftung (2016/17). A.R.R. was supported by ERC StG BCLYM-207844, SAF2013-42767-R and SAF2016-75511-R grants and co-funding by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). P.D. was funded by the Asociación Española Contra el Cancer. The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCNU) and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505). A.B. has been supported by the German Children's Cancer Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Bonn, Germany. Research in ISG group is partially supported by FEDER and by SAF2015-64420-R MINECO/FEDER, UE, RTI2018-093314-B-I00 MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE, by Junta de Castilla y León (UIC-017, CSI001U16, and CSI234P18). I.S.G. lab is a member of the EuroSyStem and the DECIDE Network funded by the European Union under the FP7 program. A.B. and I.S.G. have been supported by the German Carreras Foundation (DJCLS R13/26) and by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS)-Germany (FKZ: 3618S32274). G.R.H., A.C.-G and S.G.T.D. were supported by FSE-Conserjería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León (CSI001-15, CSI067-18 and CSI003-17, respectively). F.A. was supported by a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) fellowship (AU 525/1-1). ; Sí
Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of "personalized" oncology have achieved notable successes in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targeted therapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a few disease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic heterogeneity in tumors, which harbor therapy-resistant immortalized cells that have adopted alternate and compensatory pathways (i.e., pathways that are not reliant upon the same mechanisms as those which have been targeted). To address these limitations, an international task force of 180 scientists was assembled to explore the concept of a low-toxicity "broadspectrum" therapeutic approach that could simultaneously target many key pathways and mechanisms. Using cancer hallmark phenotypes and the tumor microenvironment to account for the various aspects of relevant cancer biology, interdisciplinary teams reviewed each hallmark area and nominated a wide range of high-priority targets (74 in total) that could be modified to improve patient outcomes. For these targets, corresponding low-toxicity therapeutic approaches were then suggested, many of which were phytochemicals. Proposed actions on each target and all of the approaches were further reviewed for known effects on other hallmark areas and the tumor microenvironment Potential contrary or procarcinogenic effects were found for 3.9% of the relationships between targets and hallmarks, and mixed evidence of complementary and contrary relationships was found for 7.1%. Approximately 67% of the relationships revealed potentially complementary effects, and the remainder had no known relationship. Among the approaches, 1.1% had contrary, 2.8% had mixed and 62.1% had complementary relationships. These results suggest that a broad-spectrum approach should be feasible from a safety standpoint. This novel approach has potential to be relatively inexpensive, it should help us address stages and types of cancer that lack conventional treatment, and it may reduce relapse risks. A proposed agenda for future research is offered. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. ; Funding Agencies|Terry Fox Foundation Grant [TF-13-20]; UAEU Program for Advanced Research (UPAR) [31S118]; NIH [AR47901, R21CA188818, R15 CA137499-01, F32CA177139, P20RR016477, P20GM103434, R01CA170378, U54CA149145, U54CA143907, R01-HL107652, R01CA166348, R01GM071725, R01 CA109335-04A1, 109511R01CA151304CA168997 A11106131R03CA1711326 1P01AT003961RO1 CA100816P01AG034906 R01AG020642P01AG034906-01A1R01HL108006]; NIH NRSA Grant [F31CA154080]; NIH (NIAID) R01: Combination therapies for chronic HBV, liver disease, and cancer [AI076535]; Sky Foundation Inc. Michigan; University of Glasgow; Beatson Oncology Centre Fund; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, ISCIII [PI12/00137, RTICC: RD12/0036/0028]; FEDER from Regional Development European Funds (European Union), Consejeria de Ciencia e Innovacion [CTS-6844, CTS-1848]; Consejeria de Salud of the Junta de Andalucia [PI-0135-2010, PI-0306-2012]; ISCIII [PIE13/0004]; FEDER funds; United Soybean Board; NIH NCCAM Grant [K01AT007324]; NIH NCI Grant [R33 CA161873-02]; Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Foundation Graduate Studentship; Ovarian and Prostate Cancer Research Trust, UK; West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission/Division of Science Research; National Institutes of Health; Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) [IG10636, 15403]; GRACE Charity, UK; Breast Cancer Campaign, UK; Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship; Connecticut State University; Swedish Research Council; Swedish Research Society; University of Texas Health Science Centre at Tyler, Elsa U. 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COST Action CM1201 `Biomimetic Radical Chemistry; Duke University Molecular Cancer Biology T32 Training Grant; National Sciences Engineering and Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Award in Canada; Charles University in Prague projects [UNCE 204015, PRVOUK P31/2012]; Czech Science Foundation projects [15-03834Y, P301/12/1686]; Czech Health Research Council AZV project [15-32432A]; Internal Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic project [NT13663-3/2012]; National Institute of Aging [P30AG028716-01]; NIH/NCI training grants to Duke University [T32-CA059365-19, 5T32-CA059365]; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan [24590493]; Ministry of Health and Welfare [CCMP101-RD-031, CCMP102-RD-112]; Tzu-Chi University of Taiwan [61040055-10]; Svenska Sallskapet for Medicinsk Forskning; Cancer Research Wales; Albert Hung Foundation; Fong Family Foundation; Welsh Government A4B scheme; NIH NCI; University of Glasgow, Beatson Oncology Centre Fund, CRUK [C301/A14762]; NIH Intramural Research Program; National Science Foundation; American Cancer Society; National Cancer Center [NCC-1310430-2]; National Research Foundation [NRF-2005-0093837]; Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Grant [80028595]; Lustgarten Fund Grant [90049125, NIHR21CA169757]; Alma Toorock Memorial for Cancer Research; National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP), Republic of Korea [2011-0017639, 2011-0030001]; Ministry of Education of Taiwan [TMUTOP103005-4]; International Life Sciences Institute; United States Public Health Services Grants [NIH R01CA156776]; VA-BLR&D Merit Review Grant [5101-BX001517-02]; V Foundation; Pancreatic Cancer Action Network; Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation; Childrens Cancer Institute Australia; University Roma Tre; Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC-Grant) [IG15221]; Carlos III Health Institute; Feder funds [AM: CP10/00539, PI13/02277]; Basque Foundation for Science (IKERBASQUE); Marie Curie CIG Grant [2012/712404]; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Avon Foundation for Women [OBC-134038]; Canadian Institutes of Health [MSH-136647, MOP 64308]; Bayer Healthcare System G4T (Grants4Targets); NIH NIDDK; NIH NIAAA; Shire Pharmaceuticals; Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Research Assistantship Award; Italian Ministry of University; University of Italy; Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC); German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) [16SV5536K]; European Commission [FP7 259679 "IDEAL"]; Cinque per Mille dellIRPEF-Finanziamento della Ricerca Sanitaria; European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) [278570]; AIRC [10216, 13837]; European Communitys Seventh Framework Program FP7 [311876]; Canadian Institute for Health Research [MOP114962, MOP125857]; Fonds de Recherche Quebec Sante [22624]; Terry Fox Research Institute [1030]; FEDER; MICINN [SAF2012-32810]; Junta de Castilla y Leon [BIO/SA06/13]; ARIMMORA project [FP7-ENV-2011]; European Union; NIH NIDDK [K01DK077137, R03DK089130]; NIH NCI grants [R01CA131294, R21 CA155686]; Avon Foundation; Breast Cancer Research Foundation Grant [90047965]; National Institute of Health, NINDS Grant [K08NS083732]; AACR-National Brain Tumor Society Career Development Award for Translational Brain Tumor Research [13-20-23-SIEG]; Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India [SR/FT/LS-063/2008]; Yorkshire Cancer Research; Wellcome Trust, UK; Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance Project CAMPUS-QUARC, within program FESR Campania Region; National Cancer Institute [5P01CA073992]; IDEA Award from the Department of Defense [W81XWH-12-1-0515]; Huntsman Cancer Foundation; University of Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Pilot Research Grant [CTSI-2013-P03]; SEEDS You Choose Awards; DoD [W81XVVH-11-1-0272, W81XWH-13-1-0182]; Kimmel Translational Science Award [SKF-13-021]; ACS Scholar award [122688-RSG-12-196-01-TBG]; National Cancer Institute, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Pew Charitable Trusts; 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Pardee Foundation; Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Oversea Scholars, State Education Ministry and Scientific and Technological Innovation Project, Harbin [2012RFLX5011]; United States National Institutes of Health [ES019458]; California Breast Cancer Research Program [17UB-8708]; National Institutes of Health through the RCMI-Center for Environmental Health [G1200MD007581]; NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Training Grant [T32HL098062]; European FP7-TuMIC [HEALTH-F2-2008-201662]; Italian Association for Cancer research (AIRC) Grant IG [11963]; Regione Campania L.R:N.5; European National Funds [PON01-02388/1 2007-2013]