Cancer as an overhealing wound: an old hypothesis revisited

M Schäfer, S Werner - Nature reviews Molecular cell biology, 2008 - nature.com
M Schäfer, S Werner
Nature reviews Molecular cell biology, 2008nature.com
What is the relationship between the wound-healing process and the development of
cancer? Malignant tumours often develop at sites of chronic injury, and tissue injury has an
important role in the pathogenesis of malignant disease, with chronic inflammation being the
most important risk factor. The development and functional characterization of genetically
modified mice that lack or overexpress genes that are involved in repair, combined with
gene-expression analysis in wounds and tumours, have highlighted remarkable similarities …
Abstract
What is the relationship between the wound-healing process and the development of cancer? Malignant tumours often develop at sites of chronic injury, and tissue injury has an important role in the pathogenesis of malignant disease, with chronic inflammation being the most important risk factor. The development and functional characterization of genetically modified mice that lack or overexpress genes that are involved in repair, combined with gene-expression analysis in wounds and tumours, have highlighted remarkable similarities between wound repair and cancer. However, a few crucial differences were also observed, which could account for the altered metabolism, impaired differentiation capacity and invasive growth of malignant tumours.
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