When Do Tumours Develop? Neoplastic Processes Across Different Timescales: Age, Season and Round the Circadian Clock.

While it is recognised that most, if not all, multicellular organisms harbour neoplastic processes within their bodies, the timing of when these undesirable cell proliferations are most likely to occur and progress throughout the organism's lifetime remains only partially documented. Due to the different mechanisms implicated in tumourigenesis, it is highly unlikely that this probability remains constant at all times and stages of life. In this article, we summarise what is known about this variation, considering the roles of age, season and circadian rhythm.

De novo evolution of transmissible tumours in hydra.

While most cancers are not transmissible, there are rare cases where cancer cells can spread between individuals and even across species, leading to epidemics. Despite their significance, the origins of such cancers remain elusive due to late detection in host populations. Using , which exhibits spontaneous tumour development that in some strains became vertically transmitted, this study presents the first experimental observation of the evolution of a transmissible tumour.

Cancer and One Health: tumor-bearing individuals can act as super spreaders of symbionts in communities.

Recent theoretical advances in the One Health approach have suggested that cancer pathologies should be given greater consideration, as cancers often render their hosts more vulnerable to infectious agents, which could turn them into super spreaders within ecosystems. Although biologically plausible, this hypothesis has not yet been validated experimentally. Using a community of cnidarians of the Hydra genus (Hydra oligactis, Hydra viridissima, Hydra vulgaris) and a commensal ciliate species (Kerona pediculus) that colonizes them, we tested whether tumoral polyps of H.

Approaches and methods to study wildlife cancer.

The last few years have seen a surge of interest from field ecologists and evolutionary biologists to study neoplasia and cancer in wildlife. This contributes to the One Health Approach, which investigates health issues at the intersection of people, wild and domestic animals, together with their changing environments. Nonetheless, the emerging field of wildlife cancer is currently constrained by methodological limitations in detecting cancer using non-invasive sampling.

The complex effects of modern oncogenic environments on the fitness, evolution and conservation of wildlife species.

Growing evidence indicates that human activities are causing cancer rates to rise in both human and wildlife populations. This is due to the inability of ancestral anti-cancer defences to cope with modern environmental risks. The evolutionary mismatch between modern oncogenic risks and evolved cancer defences has far-reaching effects on various biological aspects at different timeframes, demanding a comprehensive study of the biology and evolutionary ecology of the affected species.

Early detection of pancreatic cancer by liquid biopsy "PANLIPSY": a french nation-wide study project.

Background: Pancreatic cancer, predominantly characterized by ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for 90% of cases and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Its incidence is notably increasing. This poor prognosis is primarily due to late-stage diagnosis (approximately 70% to 80% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage), aggressive tumor biology, and low sensitivity to chemotherapy.

The molecular evolution of cancer associated genes in mammals.

Cancer is a disease that many multicellular organisms have faced for millions of years, and species have evolved various tumour suppression mechanisms to control oncogenesis. Although cancer occurs across the tree of life, cancer related mortality risks vary across mammalian orders, with Carnivorans particularly affected. Evolutionary theory predicts different selection pressures on genes associated with cancer progression and suppression, including oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes and immune genes.

[Evolution of cancer resistance in the animal kingdom].

Cancer is an inevitable collateral problem inherent in the evolution of multicellular organisms, which appeared at the end of the Precambrian. Faced to this constraint, a range of diverse anticancer defenses has evolved across the animal kingdom. Today, investigating how animal organisms, especially those of large size and long lifespan, manage cancer-related issues has both fundamental and applied outcomes, as it could inspire strategies for preventing or treating human cancers.

In vitro competition between two transmissible cancers and potential implications for their host, the Tasmanian devil.

Since the emergence of a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFT1), in the 1980s, wild Tasmanian devil populations have been in decline. In 2016, a second, independently evolved transmissible cancer (DFT2) was discovered raising concerns for survival of the host species. Here, we applied experimental and modelling frameworks to examine competition dynamics between the two transmissible cancers in vitro.

infection in people with schizophrenia is related to higher hair glucocorticoid levels.

Introduction: (TG) is a common protozoan parasite infecting approximately one third of the human population. Animal studies have shown that this parasite can manipulate its host behavior. Based on this, human studies have assessed if TG can be involved in mental health disorders associated with important behavioral modifications such as schizophrenia.

Maternally derived avian corticosterone affects offspring genome-wide DNA methylation in a passerine species.

Avian embryos develop in an egg composition which reflects both maternal condition and the recent environment of their mother. In birds, yolk corticosterone (CORT) influences development by impacting pre- and postnatal growth, as well as nestling stress responses and development. One possible mechanism through which maternal CORT may affect offspring development is via changes to offspring DNA methylation.

The effect of mitochondrial recombination on fertilization success in blue mussels.

The presence of doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) in bivalves represents a unique mode of mitochondrial transmission, whereby paternal (male-transmitted M-type) and maternal (female-transmitted F-type) haplotypes are transmitted to offspring separately. Male embryos retain both haplotypes, but the M-type is selectively removed from females. Due to the presence of heteroplasmy in males, mtDNA can recombine resulting in a 'masculinized' haplotype referred to as M-type.

The effect of placentation type, litter size, lactation and gestation length on cancer risk in mammals.

Reproduction is a central activity for all living organisms but is also associated with a diversity of costs that are detrimental for survival. Until recently, the cost of cancer as a selective force has been poorly considered. Considering 191 mammal species, we found cancer mortality was more likely to be detected in species having large, rather than low, litter sizes and long lactation lengths regardless of the placentation types.

Spontaneously occurring tumors in different wild-derived strains of hydra.

Hydras are freshwater cnidarians widely used as a biological model to study different questions such as senescence or phenotypic plasticity but also tumoral development. The spontaneous tumors found in these organisms have been so far described in two female lab strains domesticated years ago (Hydra oligactis and Pelmatohydra robusta) and the extent to which these tumors can be representative of tumors within the diversity of wild hydras is completely unknown. In this study, we examined individuals isolated from recently sampled wild strains of different sex and geographical origin, which have developed outgrowths looking like tumors.

No evidence that spice consumption is a cancer prevention mechanism in human populations.

Background: Why humans historically began to incorporate spices into their diets is still a matter of unresolved debate. For example, a recent study (Bromham et al. There is little evidence that spicy food in hot countries is an adaptation to reducing infection risk.

Transmissible cancer and longitudinal telomere dynamics in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii).

A plethora of intrinsic and environmental factors have been shown to influence the length of telomeres, the protector of chromosome ends. Despite the growing interest in infection-telomere interactions, there is very limited knowledge on how transmissible cancers influence telomere maintenance. An emblematic example of transmissible cancer occurs in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), whose populations have been dramatically reduced by infectious cancer cells.