Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Department of Pathology and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1311:149-160. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-65768-0_11.
Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, causing over half a million deaths a year in the USA alone. Despite recent advances made in the field of cancer biology and the therapies that have been developed [1, 2], it is clear that more advances are necessary for us to classify cancer as curable. The logical question that arises is simple: Why, despite all the technologies and medical innovations of our time, has a complete cure eluded us? This chapter sheds light on one of cancer's most impactful attributes: its heterogeneity and, more specifically, the intratumoral heterogeneity of cancer metabolism. Simply put, what makes cancer one of the deadliest diseases is its ability to change and adapt. Cancer cells' rapid evolution, coupled with their irrepressible ability to divide, gives most of them the advantage over our immune systems. In this chapter, we delve into the complexities of this adaptability and the vital role that metabolism plays in the rise and progression of this heterogeneity.
癌症是世界上最致命的疾病之一，仅在美国每年就导致超过 50 万人死亡。尽管在癌症生物学领域和已经开发的治疗方法方面取得了最近的进展[1,2]，但显然我们还需要更多的进展才能将癌症归类为可治愈的疾病。出现的一个简单的逻辑问题是：为什么尽管我们拥有当今所有的技术和医疗创新，仍然无法完全治愈癌症？本章揭示了癌症最具影响力的特征之一：其异质性，更具体地说，是癌症代谢的肿瘤内异质性。简而言之，使癌症成为最致命疾病之一的原因是其改变和适应的能力。癌细胞的快速进化，加上其不可抑制的分裂能力，使它们中的大多数都具有比我们的免疫系统更大的优势。在本章中，我们深入探讨了这种适应性的复杂性，以及新陈代谢在这种异质性的产生和发展中所扮演的重要角色。
