Carlo Maley (Arizona State University, USA) How Evolution Can Help Solve All the Biggest Problems in Cancer

Carlo Maley is a biologist who specializes in cancer, evolution and computational biology. He works at the intersection of these fields.

Professor Maley and his research team apply evolutionary and ecological theory to three problems in cancer. First, they investigate neoplastic progression: the evolutionary dynamics among cells of a tumor that drive progression from normal tissue to malignant cancers. Second, they examine acquired therapeutic resistance: the evolutionary dynamics by which therapies select for resistance and fail to cure cancer. Third, they look into the evolution of cancer suppression mechanisms in large, long-lived animals such as elephants and whales (a problem called Peto’s Paradox).

His team uses genomic data mining, phylogenetics, computational modeling and wet lab techniques to solve these problems. In their work, the Maley team focus on developing better methods to prevent cancer and improve cancer management.

Abstract

I identify 8 major problems in cancer research: 1) Understanding and preventing initiation, 2) Risk stratification for prognosis, 3) Cancer prevention, 4) Early detection of cancer when it is curable, 5) Prevention and treatment of metastasis, 6) Achieving a therapeutic response, 7) Acquired therapeutic resistance, and 8) Death caused by cancer. I will show how evolution can help to solve each of these problems, in most cases highlighting research from my lab and our collaborators. In the process, I will address the fundamental nature of cancer, what we can learn from studying other species, and innovations in cancer therapy that may transform all of oncology.