Clonal evolution in hematological malignancies and therapeutic implications.

Leukemia
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

The ability of cancer to evolve and adapt is a principal challenge to therapy in general and to the paradigm of targeted therapy in particular. This ability is fueled by the co-existence of multiple, genetically heterogeneous subpopulations within the cancer cell population. Increasing evidence has supported the idea that these subpopulations are selected in a Darwinian fashion, by which the genetic landscape of the tumor is continuously reshaped. Massively parallel sequencing has enabled a recent surge in our ability to study this process, adding to previous efforts using cytogenetic methods and targeted sequencing. Altogether, these studies reveal the complex evolutionary trajectories occurring across individual hematological malignancies. They also suggest that while clonal evolution may contribute to resistance to therapy, treatment may also hasten the evolutionary process. New insights into this process challenge us to understand the impact of treatment on clonal evolution and inspire the development of novel prognostic and therapeutic strategies.

Year of Publication
2014
Journal
Leukemia
Volume
28
Issue
1
Pages
34-43
Date Published
2014 Jan
ISSN
1476-5551
URL
DOI
10.1038/leu.2013.248
PubMed ID
23979521
PubMed Central ID
PMC3934006
Links
Grant list
1R01HL103532-01 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
U54 HG003067 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
R01 HL103532 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
U54HG003067 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
1R01HL116452-01 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
R01 CA155010 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
1R01CA155010-01A1 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
R01 HL116452 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States