Abstract
Cancer prevention is superior to cancer treatment—indeed, understanding and controlling cancer risk is a key question in the fields of applied ecology and evolutionary oncology. Ecological cancer risk models offer the dual benefit of being generalizable across cancer types, and unveiling common mechanisms underlying cancer development and spread. Understanding the biological mechanisms of cancer risk may also guide the design of interventions to prevent cancer. Ecological considerations are central to many of these mechanisms; as one example, the ecologically-based hypothesis of metabolic cancer suppression posits that restricted vascular supply of limiting resources to somatic tissues normally suppresses the evolution of somatic cells toward cancer. Here we present a critical review of published evidence relevant to this hypothesis, and we conclude that there is substantial evidence that cancer risk does increase with an abnormal excess of limiting cell resources, including both dietary macronutrients as well as certain micronutrients.
Highlights
Cancer is the result of an evolutionary process
A large body of evidence indicates that cancer risk does increase with an abnormal excess of limiting cell resources, including both exogenous dietary factors, and endogenous signaling molecules
This effect is most widely investigated in energetic macronutrients, which can upset the normal energy balance and create hyperglycemia, but the supporting evidence is strong for at least two limiting micronutrients: iron and phosphate
Summary
Cancer is the result of an evolutionary process This is a process fueled by mutation and shaped by ecology (Reynolds et al, 2020), making the assessment and reduction of cancer risk an important problem in the fields of applied ecology and evolution. The ecology of the tissue microenvironment is central to understanding and intercepting cancer risk in two ways: Firstly, while mutations are stochastic and unpredictable, ecological effects on evolutionary trajectories are deterministic and predictable (Lenski, 2017; Barrick et al, 2020)—especially in cases of convergent evolution, such as the cellular evolution of cancer (Fortunato et al, 2017). Based on systems biology simulation models, it was proposed that in the somatic ecology of tissues, an abnormal excess of limiting energetic resources may increase cancer risk in the affected tissues (Wu et al, 2019). We undertake a critical review of published empirical evidence relevant to testing this broader hypothesis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
