A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget Volume 14 on April 14, 2023. 

In this research perspective, researcher Yuri Lazebnik from Lerna Consulting begins by explaining a view that guides the bulk of cancer research and oncology: each neoplastic cell in a tumour is a genetic offspring of another neoplastic cell. 

“Yet, analysing tumours from transplant patients has revealed that some normal migratory cells adopt the phenotype of neoplastic cells without acquiring their genome, thus becoming what I suggest to call adopted neoplastic cells.”

This commentary reviews the evidence for the existence of adopted neoplastic cells, outlines the consequences of their presence, and discusses what kind of cells can be adopted, how and why.

“Finally, as experiments with humans can go only that far, and fortunately so, testing the hypotheses we have discussed will require experimental systems, such as human tumour explants which have been explored to reveal intercellular bridging and chimeric animals designed to monitor cell fate, cell fusion, and component transfer.”

Article: Adopted neoplastic cells and the consequences of their existence

Source: Impact Journals LLC