Clonal cooperation

摘要

Sequencing of human cancer genomes has revealed a high degree of genetic heterogeneity among cells of a given tumour. In most cases, tumour growth is thought to be driven by the most 'advanced' cancer-cell subpopulation - that carrying the highest number of cancer-driving mutations. However, the presence of many mutations that occur at only low frequency implies that tumours contain multiple subclones, and the relevance of these is not fully understood. On page 113 of this issue, Cleary et al. provide a potential explanation for some forms of intratumoral heterogeneity, by describing a cooperative cellular interaction in mouse mammary tumours in which the presence of two types of clone is required for tumour formation.