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Review
. 2017 May 1;7(5):1016-1036.
eCollection 2017.

Revisiting the hallmarks of cancer

Yousef Ahmed Fouad  1 , Carmen Aanei  2
Affiliations
Review

Revisiting the hallmarks of cancer

Yousef Ahmed Fouad et al. Am J Cancer Res. .

Abstract

The hallmarks of cancer described by Hanahan and Weinberg have proved seminal in our understanding of cancer's common traits and in rational drug design. Not free of critique and with understanding of different aspects of tumorigenesis coming into clearer focus in the recent years, we attempt to draw a more organized and updated picture of the cancer hallmarks. We define seven hallmarks of cancer: selective growth and proliferative advantage, altered stress response favoring overall survival, vascularization, invasion and metastasis, metabolic rewiring, an abetting microenvironment, and immune modulation, while highlighting some considerations for the future of the field.

Keywords: Cancer; cancer biology; hallmarks; malignancy; tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The transformation process. Different insults continuously act on cells leading to transformative alterations in (epi) genetics, chromosomal numbers and arrangements, and heterotypic interactions which, along the path towards malignancy, undergo cycles of evolutionary clonal selection leading to the acquisition of cancer-competent traits, the hallmarks of cancer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Altered stress response. Different stressors act on different compartments of normal and (to a higher degree) cancer cells. Some of the stress responses are subverted or hijacked for overall survival on the road towards malignancy. (CM: Cell Membrane, R: Receptor, C: Cytosol, N: Nucleus containing DNA, M: Mitochondria).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The hallmarks of cancer revisited.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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