Journal article
From Worms to Tumors: Conserved Strategies of Cellular Arrest and Survival Governing Dormancy
Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.), Vol.85(23), pp.4585-4599
12/01/2025
DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-2050
PMCID: PMC12584136
PMID: 41043127
Abstract
The recurrence of metastatic lesions months to years after the treatment of primary cancers remains a major contributor to cancer-related mortality, highlighting the need to better understand the mechanisms that govern dormancy and dormancy reawakening. A major hurdle is the lack of adequate in vitro and in vivo models to dissect the complex cascades that trigger tumor cell dissemination, adoption of the dormant state, or tumor cell outgrowth in the new metastatic microenvironmental niche. However, many organisms use dormancy to survive stressful environments or periods of nutrient deprivation. Of these, the dauer state of the free-living nematodes C. elegans has unparalleled characterization. Here, we discuss the remarkable physiological, signaling, genomic, and metabolic similarities between dormant cancer cells and C. elegans dauers, arguing for the use of dauers as a facile model to help dissect dormancy and reawakening pathways in cancer cells.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- From Worms to Tumors: Conserved Strategies of Cellular Arrest and Survival Governing Dormancy
- Creators
- Veena Prahlad - Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterIrwin H Gelman - Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.), Vol.85(23), pp.4585-4599
- DOI
- 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-2050
- PMID
- 41043127
- PMCID
- PMC12584136
- NLM abbreviation
- Cancer Res
- ISSN
- 1538-7445
- eISSN
- 1538-7445
- Publisher
- AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH
- Grant note
- National Institute on Aging (NIA): AG060616 Center for Cancer Research (CCR): P30CA016056 Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP): W81XWH-21-1-0619
This work was supported by NIH R01 AG060616 (to V. Prahlad), DOD W81XWH-21-1-0619 (to I.H. Gelman), and the NCI grant P30CA016056 to the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 10/03/2025
- Date published
- 12/01/2025
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Record Identifier
- 9984969108802771
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