Cancer Commonalities: The Hallmarks of Cancer Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of our 3-part discussion on cancer commonalities!  In this series we are defining the features shared by most cancer cells as outlined in Hanahan and Weinberg’s review article.  It’s a great introduction to what defines cancer.  Let’s first recap our last discussion:  In part 1 we learned about the first 3 hallmarks of cancer: sustained proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, and resisting cell death.  Although distinct, these traits integrate several key signaling pathways including the Ras-MAPK pathway, the PI3K-AKT axis, and the p53 tumor suppressor pathway.  Their intricate interactions imply that alterations in one pathway can affect multiple pathways and therefore, multiple cancer traits. 

Figure 1: Hallmarks of Cancer

In today’s discussion, we will introduce the 3 remaining classical characteristics shared by cancer cells.

Cancer Commonalities: The Hallmarks of Cancer Part 1

Previously we learned how cancer could be different and unique – both between cancer types and even within the same tumor.  And although these convolutions make treatment of this disease a challenging task, cancer also shares some overarching principles which help guide us in the identification of therapeutic targets.  Today we will highlight these so-called hallmarks of cancer.  As a side note, this discussion also serves as a good primer on cancer.

In the review article The Hallmarks of Cancer (originally published in 2001, but updated in 2011), two cancer research experts, Douglas Hanahan and Robert Weinberg comprised the characteristics that underpin cancer and then summarized the research to support their ideas.  These hallmarks, the features that almost all cancer cells acquire through the course of tumor progression, have become so fundamental to the way scientists think about cancer that they can actually drive the direction of our research.  Obviously this article is required reading for anyone interested in cancer research.