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. 2022 Jun 3;15(1):67.
doi: 10.1186/s13048-022-01004-1.

Evolutionary perspectives, heterogeneity and ovarian cancer: a complicated tale from past to present

Patriciu Achimas-Cadariu #  1   2 , Paul Kubelac #  3   4 , Alexandru Irimie  5   3 , Ioana Berindan-Neagoe  6   7   8 , Frank Rühli  9
Affiliations

Evolutionary perspectives, heterogeneity and ovarian cancer: a complicated tale from past to present

Patriciu Achimas-Cadariu et al. J Ovarian Res. .

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is composed of a complex system of cells best described by features such as clonal evolution, spatial and temporal genetic heterogeneity, and development of drug resistance, thus making it the most lethal gynecologic cancer. Seminal work on cancer as an evolutionary process has a long history; however, recent cost-effective large-scale molecular profiling has started to provide novel insights coupled with the development of mathematical algorithms. In the current review, we have systematically searched for articles that focused on the clonal evolution of ovarian cancer to offer the whole landscape of research that has been done and highlight future research avenues given its characteristic features and connections to evolutionary biology.

Keywords: Clonal evolution; Ovarian cancer; Spatial heterogeneity; Survival; Temporal heterogeneity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Concept of clonal progression in cancer. Primary ancestral clone (P) has divergent evolution with early (M1) and late (M2, M4) acquisition of metastatic potential and re-seeding of metastases (M3). A high immune infiltrated microenvironment shapes clonal evolution. Pre-existent platinum resistant clones drive tumor relapse
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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