title: Cancer: an emergent property of disturbed resource-rich environments? Ecology meets personalized medicine.
abstract: For an increasing number of biologists, cancer is viewed as a dynamic system governed by evolutionary and ecological principles. Throughout most of human history, cancer was an uncommon cause of death and it is generally accepted that common components of modern culture, including increased physiological stresses and caloric intake, favor cancer development. However, the precise mechanisms for this linkage are not well understood. Here, we examine the roles of ecological and physiological disturbances and resource availability on the emergence of cancer in multicellular organisms. We argue that proliferation of 'profiteering phenotypes' is often an emergent property of disturbed, resource-rich environments at all scales of biological organization. We review the evidence for this phenomenon, explore it within the context of malignancy, and discuss how this ecological framework may offer a theoretical background for novel strategies of cancer prevention. This work provides a compelling argument that the traditional separation between medicine and evolutionary ecology remains a fundamental limitation that needs to be overcome if complex processes, such as oncogenesis, are to be completely understood.
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ducasse
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arnal
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; Centre de Recherche de la Tour du Valat Arles, France.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vittecoq
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, John Abbott College Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Simon P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Daoust
authors.affiliation: Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Waurn Ponds, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ujvari
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jacqueline
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Tazzio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tissot
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and the Program on Disease Evolution, University of Louisville Louisville, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ewald
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gatenby
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Kayla C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: ISEM Institut des sciences de l'évolution, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS/IRD/UM2 UMR 5554 Montpellier Cedex, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonhomme
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal Montréal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brodeur
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Renaud
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1009, Université Paris-Sud, Gustave Roussy Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Solary
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; Unité mixte internationale de Modélisation Mathématique et Informatique des Systèmes Complexes (UMI IRD/UPMC UMMISCO) BondyCedex, France.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.affiliation: MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ; CREEC, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thomas
keywords: biomedicine; cancer; disease biology; evolutionary medicine