Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles?
Many aspects of cancer biology remain puzzling, including the proliferative and survival success of malignant cells in spite of their high genetic and epigenetic instability as well as their ability to express migrating phenotypes and/or enter dormancy despite possible fitness loss. Understanding th...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-05-01
|
Series: | Cancers |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/9/2197 |
id |
doaj-73a56492c28c4b77b18608632e9b51f3 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-73a56492c28c4b77b18608632e9b51f32021-05-31T23:07:47ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942021-05-01132197219710.3390/cancers13092197Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles?Jean-Pascal Capp0Aurora M Nedelcu1Antoine M Dujon2Benjamin Roche3Francesco Catania4Beata Ujvari5Catherine Alix-Panabières6Frédéric Thomas7Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, University of Toulouse, INSA, CNRS, INRAE, 31400 Toulouse, FranceDepartment of Biology, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, CanadaCentre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Deakin, VIC 3216, AustraliaCREEC/CANECEV, MIVEGEC (CREES), Centre de Recherches Ecologiques et Evolutives sur le Cancer, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, FranceInstitute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasse 1, 48149 Münster, GermanyCentre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Deakin, VIC 3216, AustraliaCREEC/CANECEV, MIVEGEC (CREES), Centre de Recherches Ecologiques et Evolutives sur le Cancer, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, FranceCREEC/CANECEV, MIVEGEC (CREES), Centre de Recherches Ecologiques et Evolutives sur le Cancer, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, FranceMany aspects of cancer biology remain puzzling, including the proliferative and survival success of malignant cells in spite of their high genetic and epigenetic instability as well as their ability to express migrating phenotypes and/or enter dormancy despite possible fitness loss. Understanding the potential adaptive value of these phenotypic traits is confounded by the fact that, when considered separately, they seem to be rather detrimental at the cell level, at least in the short term. Here, we argue that cancer’s biology and success could frequently be governed by processes underlying Parrondo’s paradox, whereby combinations of intrinsically losing strategies may result in winning outcomes. Oncogenic selection would favor Parrondo’s dynamics because, given the environmental adversity in which malignant cells emerge and evolve, alternating between various less optimal strategies would represent the sole viable option to counteract the changing and deleterious environments cells are exposed to during tumorigenesis. We suggest that malignant processes could be viewed through this lens, and we discuss how Parrondo’s principles are also important when designing therapies against cancer.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/9/2197cancerdormancymetastasisParrondo’s paradoxtherapy |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jean-Pascal Capp Aurora M Nedelcu Antoine M Dujon Benjamin Roche Francesco Catania Beata Ujvari Catherine Alix-Panabières Frédéric Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Jean-Pascal Capp Aurora M Nedelcu Antoine M Dujon Benjamin Roche Francesco Catania Beata Ujvari Catherine Alix-Panabières Frédéric Thomas Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles? Cancers cancer dormancy metastasis Parrondo’s paradox therapy |
author_facet |
Jean-Pascal Capp Aurora M Nedelcu Antoine M Dujon Benjamin Roche Francesco Catania Beata Ujvari Catherine Alix-Panabières Frédéric Thomas |
author_sort |
Jean-Pascal Capp |
title |
Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles? |
title_short |
Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles? |
title_full |
Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles? |
title_fullStr |
Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Does Cancer Biology Rely on Parrondo’s Principles? |
title_sort |
does cancer biology rely on parrondo’s principles? |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Cancers |
issn |
2072-6694 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
Many aspects of cancer biology remain puzzling, including the proliferative and survival success of malignant cells in spite of their high genetic and epigenetic instability as well as their ability to express migrating phenotypes and/or enter dormancy despite possible fitness loss. Understanding the potential adaptive value of these phenotypic traits is confounded by the fact that, when considered separately, they seem to be rather detrimental at the cell level, at least in the short term. Here, we argue that cancer’s biology and success could frequently be governed by processes underlying Parrondo’s paradox, whereby combinations of intrinsically losing strategies may result in winning outcomes. Oncogenic selection would favor Parrondo’s dynamics because, given the environmental adversity in which malignant cells emerge and evolve, alternating between various less optimal strategies would represent the sole viable option to counteract the changing and deleterious environments cells are exposed to during tumorigenesis. We suggest that malignant processes could be viewed through this lens, and we discuss how Parrondo’s principles are also important when designing therapies against cancer. |
topic |
cancer dormancy metastasis Parrondo’s paradox therapy |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/9/2197 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT jeanpascalcapp doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT auroramnedelcu doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT antoinemdujon doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT benjaminroche doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT francescocatania doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT beataujvari doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT catherinealixpanabieres doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples AT fredericthomas doescancerbiologyrelyonparrondosprinciples |
_version_ |
1721418298576338944 |