Cancer recurrence and lethality are enabled by enhanced survival and reversible cell cycle arrest of polyaneuploid cells [Medical Sciences]

We present a unifying theory to explain cancer recurrence, therapeutic resistance, and lethality. The basis of this theory is the formation of simultaneously polyploid and aneuploid cancer cells, polyaneuploid cancer cells (PACCs), that avoid the toxic effects of systemic therapy by entering a state of cell cycle arrest. The theory...

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - January 27, 2021 Category: Science Authors: K. J. Pienta, E. U. Hammarlund, J. S. Brown, S. R. Amend, R. M. Axelrod Tags: Medical Sciences, Perspectives Source Type: research