When Cancer Changes Identity
A new study co-led by the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) shows that a rare form of lung cancer can change identity as it grows, shifting between cell types and passing through hybrid states.
The research focuses on combined small-cell lung cancer and demonstrates that these tumors arise from a single ancestral cell and evolve into multiple distinct identities. Scientists found that tumor cells exist along a continuum, with about one-third of SCLC-like tumor cells occupying intermediate hybrid states, and that tumors are organized into regions with differing immune activity separated by fibroblast-rich barriers. “They are dynamic systems, with cancer cells actively changing their identity,” said Wei Wei, an associate professor at ISB, describing the evolving nature of the disease.
These findings strengthen the region’s role in systems biology by improving understanding of tumor evolution and informing approaches to diagnosis and treatment.