Cancer Res Treat.  2017 Jan;49(1):1-9. 10.4143/crt.2016.606.

How Can We Treat Cancer Disease Not Cancer Cells?

• Kim KW
• Lee SJ
• Kim WY
• Seo JH
• Lee HY

• KMID: 2367497
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2016.606

Abstract

Since molecular biology studies began, researches in biological science have centered on proteins and genes at molecular level of a single cell. Cancer research has also focused on various functions of proteins and genes that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells. Accordingly, most contemporary anticancer drugs have been developed to target abnormal characteristics of cancer cells. Despite the great advances in the development of anticancer drugs, vast majority of patients with advanced cancer have shown grim prognosis and high rate of relapse. To resolve this problem, we must reevaluate our focuses in current cancer research. Cancer should be considered as a systemic disease because cancer cells undergo a complex interaction with various surrounding cells in cancer tissue and spread to whole body through metastasis under the control of the systemic modulation. Human body relies on the cooperative interaction between various tissues and organs, and each organ performs its specialized function through tissue-specific cell networks. Therefore, investigation of the tumor-specific cell networks can provide novel strategy to overcome the limitation of current cancer research. This review presents the limitations of the current cancer research, emphasizing the necessity of studying tissue-specific cell network which could be a new perspective on treating cancer disease, not cancer cells.

Keyword

Cancer cells; Cancer disease; Metastasis; Systemic disease; Tissue-specific cell network

MeSH Terms

Biological Science Disciplines
Human Body
Humans
Molecular Biology
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prognosis
Recurrence

Figure

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  Fig. 1. The differences between normal cells and cancer cells.

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  Fig. 2. Currently developed anticancer drugs and their targets.

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  Fig. 3. Paradigm shift from studying cells to studying systemic network of cells.

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  Fig. 4. Cancer is a diverse, complex, and systemic disease.

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  Fig. 5. Emergence of tissue specificity via cell-cell network. EC, endothelial cell.

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  Fig. 6. Different cell networks in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of brain and the sinusoid of liver. BM, bone marrow; EC, endothelial cell.

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  Fig. 7. Switch of local disease to systemic disease during cancer metastasis.

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  Fig. 8. Direct relation between the tumor-specific cell networks and the malignant tumorigenesis.

Reference

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