This book intends to report new concept of onco-spheres in cancer ecosystem. Onco-spheres are defined as where cancer cells (living organisms) dynamically interact with nontumor cellular (other living organisms) and noncellular components (non-living environmental factors) in the ‘host’ internal environment (habitat) to construct a self-sustainable cancer ecosystem, which can be scoped at three different levels: primary/regional, distal and systemic onco-spheres. Cancer cells should be conceived as ‘living organisms’, interacting with cellular or noncellular components in the host internal environment, not only with the local tumor microenvironment (TME) but also constantly communicating with a distant organ niche as well interacting with the host’s nervous, endocrine and immune systems, to construct a self-sustainable ‘biosphere’, as we termed the tumor ecosystem. By looking at the interaction of cancer and host as a unique ecosystem, we will use ecology principles to further delineate the features of the dynamics of the tumor ecosystem. As the pioneer in proposing this concept, we feel that this full-scale overview of the tumor ecosystem is able to inform the readers about this concept, and to pave the way for designing novel therapeutic strategies on actionable targets within tumor ecosystem. The book is likely to be of interest to immunologist, biologist, medical students, researchers and general public who wish to learn more on this new concept of tumor ecosystem, and how this could be applied in many fields of research.

Ecology and Evolution of Cancer is a timely work outlining ideas that not only represent a substantial and original contribution to the fields of evolution, ecology, and cancer, but also goes beyond by connecting the interfaces of these disciplines. This work engages the expertise of a multidisciplinary research team to collate and review the latest knowledge and developments in this exciting research field. The evolutionary perspective of cancer has gained significant international recognition and interest, which is fully understandable given that somatic cellular selection and evolution are elegant explanations for carcinogenesis. Cancer is now generally accepted to be an evolutionary and ecological process with complex interactions between tumor cells and their environment sharing many similarities with organismal evolution. As a critical contribution to this field of research the book is important and relevant for the applications of evolutionary biology to understand the origin of cancers, to control neoplastic progression, and to prevent therapeutic failures. Covers all aspects of the evolution of cancer, appealing to researchers seeking to understand its origins and effects of treatments on its progression, as well as to lecturers in evolutionary medicine Functions as both an introduction to cancer and evolution and a review of the current research on this burgeoning, exciting field, presented by an international group of leading editors and contributors Improves understanding of the origin and the evolution of cancer, aiding efforts to determine how this disease interferes with biotic interactions that govern ecosystems Highlights research that intends to apply evolutionary principles to help predict emergence and metastatic progression with the aim of improving therapies

A fundamental and groundbreaking reassessment of how we view and manage cancer When we think of the forces driving cancer, we don’t necessarily think of evolution. But evolution and cancer are closely linked because the historical processes that created life also created cancer. The Cheating Cell delves into this extraordinary relationship, and shows that by understanding cancer’s evolutionary origins, researchers can come up with more effective, revolutionary treatments. Athena Aktipis goes back billions of years to explore when unicellular forms became multicellular organisms. Within these bodies of cooperating cells, cheating ones arose, overusing resources and replicating out of control, giving rise to cancer. Aktipis illustrates how evolution has paved the way for cancer’s ubiquity, and why it will exist as long as multicellular life does. Even so, she argues, this doesn’t mean we should give up on treating cancer—in fact, evolutionary approaches offer new and promising options for the disease’s prevention and treatments that aim at long-term management rather than simple eradication. Looking across species—from sponges and cacti to dogs and elephants—we are discovering new mechanisms of tumor suppression and the many ways that multicellular life-forms have evolved to keep cancer under control. By accepting that cancer is a part of our biological past, present, and future—and that we cannot win a war against evolution—treatments can become smarter, more strategic, and more humane. Unifying the latest research from biology, ecology, medicine, and social science, The Cheating Cell challenges us to rethink cancer’s fundamental nature and our relationship to it.

The identification of the role of tumor stroma—the tissue in the surroundings of cancer cells—in cancer development, progression, and metastasis has revolutionized the fields of cancer biology as well as cancer therapeutics. This book provides a comprehensive overview of this rapidly-evolving field including tumor stroma biology, therapeutic targets, molecular imaging, and advanced tumor stroma in vitro models. The book will serve as a handbook for graduate students, postgraduate researchers, pharmaceutical scientists, and biomedical engineers.

This volume is based on the Workshop on Systems Biology of Tumor Dormancy meeting, held July 25th to July 28th, 2011. The first annual CCSB workshop brought together biologists, clinicians, mathematicians, and computer scientists to discuss various aspects of tumor dormancy and develop novel mathematical/computational models with the keynote speakers. Specific topics included the angiogenic switch, immune system interactions, cancer stem cells and signaling.