Updating the Definition of Cancer

Brown, Joel S.; Amend, Sarah R.; Austin, Robert H.; Gatenby, Robert A.; Hammarlund, Emma U.; Pienta, Kenneth J.

doi:10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-23-0411

articleMolecular Cancer ResearchJul 6, 2023HYBRID OA

Updating the Definition of Cancer

JSJoel S. Brown SRSarah R. Amend RHRobert H. Austin RARobert A. Gatenby EUEmma U. Hammarlund

Moffitt Cancer Center · Johns Hopkins University · +3 more institutions

PubMed

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Abstract

Most definitions of cancer broadly conform to the current NCI definition: "Cancer is a disease in which some of the body's cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body." These definitions tend to describe what cancer "looks like" or "does" but do not describe what cancer "is" or "has become." While reflecting past insights, current definitions have not kept pace with the understanding that the cancer cell is itself transformed and evolving. We propose a revised definition of cancer: Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled proliferation by transformed cells subject to evolution by natural selection. We believe this definition captures the essence of the majority of previous and current…

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Keywords

Cancer
Cancer research
Medicine
Internal medicine

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