[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-406269-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-406269-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","updating-the-definition-of-cancer","Updating the Definition of Cancer","","Proposes a revised definition of cancer grounded in modern evolutionary thinking. It argues that current definitions capture appearance and behavior but not what cancer fundamentally is or has become, because cancer cells are transformed and actively evolving. The paper defines cancer as uncontrolled proliferation by transformed cells subject to evolution by natural selection, integrating genetic and epigenetic changes that accumulate within cancer cell populations and drive lethal phenotypes.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/updating-the-definition-of-cancer/406269/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/updating-the-definition-of-cancer/406269.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Marglet","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why do the authors argue that existing definitions of cancer are incomplete?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"They claim current definitions describe what cancer looks like or does, but they do not explain what cancer is or what it has become, given that cancer cells are transformed and evolving.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What revised definition of cancer does the paper propose?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Cancer is defined as a disease of uncontrolled proliferation by transformed cells, subject to evolution by natural selection.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How does the paper connect natural selection to lethal cancer phenotypes?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"It emphasizes that genetic and epigenetic changes accumulate within cancer cell populations and, through natural selection, lead to the lethal phenotypes observed in cancer.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},406269,1791029251,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},7,40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":106,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":101,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},2336477982702,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Updating the Definition of Cancer  \nJoel S. Brown1, Sarah R. Amend2, Robert H. Austin3, Robert A. Gatenby1, Emma U. Hammarlund4, and Kenneth J. Pienta2  \n◥  \nMost definitions of cancer broadly conform to the current NCIdefinition: “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 definitions. To the  \nsimplest definition of cancer as a disease of uncontrolled proliferation of cells, our definition adds in the adjective “transformed”to capture the many tumorigenic processes that cancer cells adopt to metastasize. To the concept of uncontrolled proliferation of transformed cells, our proposed definition then adds “subject to evolution by natural selection.” The subject to evolution by natural selection modernizes the definition to include the genetic and epigenetic changes that accumulate within a population of cancer cells that lead to the lethal phenotype. Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled proliferation by transformed cells subject to evolution by natural selection.  \nIntroduction  \nMost definitions of cancer broadly conform to the current NCIdefinition: “Cancer is a disease in which some of the body’s cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body” (see Table 1; ref. 1) . These definitions tend to describe what cancer “looks like” or“does” but do not describe what cancer “is” or “has become.” While reflecting growing and useful insights, current definitions have not kept pace with the understanding that the cancer cell is itself transformed and evolving.  \nCancer was first recognized as a growing tissue mass, a tumor (2, 3) . They could observe what it looked like, how fast it grew, and how it often appeared to take a “bite” out of the body. The tumors themselves seemed, at times, to spread to other parts of the body and were recognized as fatal. Two things are evident at this stage of understanding. First, it aligns with a disease of abnormal and uncontrolled growth with the capacity to spread. Second, there was no distinction made between the concepts of tumor and cancer. Even today, these terms are often used interchangeably.  \nThe “cellular theory” of disease formulated by Rudolf Virchow in the mid-19th century postulates that all diseases, including cancer, arose from changes in cells. This knowledge led to an understanding of cancer as a disease of abnormal cell proliferation (4). Many writings of the era reflect how cancer was recognized as the product of proliferating cells that forma tumor(5). It was also recognized that cancer cells  \n1Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida. 2The Cancer Ecology Center, The Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. 3Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. 4Tissue Development and Evolution Research Group, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.  \nCorresponding Authors: Kenneth J. Pienta, Urology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street / Marburg 121, Baltimore, MD 21287 . E-mail:  \n[kpienta1@jhmi.edu](kpienta1@jhmi.edu); and Joel Brown, Joel. Brown@Moffi[tt.org](tt.org)  \n[Mol Cancer Res 2023](Mol Cancer Res 2023);[21:1142](21:1142)–[7](7)  \n[doi:](doi: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-23-0411)[ 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-23-0411](doi: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-23-0411)  \nThis open access article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attri","cbCaipwrDzgmaaUI","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipwrDzgmaaUI","pdf",208786,"English","# Introduction\n## Limits of existing definitions of cancer\n## From tumors to cellular theory\n## Evolutionary view of cancer","[{\"question\":\"Why do the authors argue that existing definitions of cancer are incomplete?\",\"answer\":\"They claim current definitions describe what cancer looks like or does, but they do not explain what cancer is or what it has become, given that cancer cells are transformed and evolving.\"},{\"question\":\"What revised definition of cancer does the paper propose?\",\"answer\":\"Cancer is defined as a disease of uncontrolled proliferation by transformed cells, subject to evolution by natural selection.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper connect natural selection to lethal cancer phenotypes?\",\"answer\":\"It emphasizes that genetic and epigenetic changes accumulate within cancer cell populations and, through natural selection, lead to the lethal phenotypes observed in cancer.\"}]","Updating the Definition of Cancer | PDF",1790564551,15]