Research Perspective: Adopted Neoplastic Cells and the Consequences of Their Existence

“[...] I hope that considering and testing the concept of adopted neoplastic cells will prove to be useful in explaining puzzling observations related to neoplasia [...]” 

BUFFALO, NY- August 29, 2023 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on April 14, 2023, entitled, “Adopted neoplastic cells and the consequences of their existence.”

In this research perspective, researcher Yuri Lazebnik from Lerna Consulting begins by explaining a view that guides the bulk of cancer research and oncology: each neoplastic cell in a tumor is a genetic offspring of another neoplastic cell.

“Yet, analyzing tumors from transplant patients has revealed that some normal migratory cells adopt the phenotype of neoplastic cells without acquiring their genome, thus becoming what I suggest to call adopted neoplastic cells.”

This commentary reviews the evidence for the existence of adopted neoplastic cells, outlines the consequences of their presence, and discusses what kind of cells can be adopted, how and why.

“Finally, as experiments with humans can go only that far, and fortunately so, testing the hypotheses we have discussed will require experimental systems, such as human tumor explants which have been explored to reveal intercellular bridging [129, 130] and chimeric animals designed to monitor cell fate, cell fusion, and component transfer [206].”

Read the full research perspective: DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28408 

Correspondence to: Yuri Lazebnik

Email: yuri@lernaconsulting.com 

Keywords: tumor microenvironment, horizontal oncogenesis, intercellular bridges, cell fusion, cell repair

About Oncotarget: Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open-access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.

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