Biology and evolution of poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors

• Published in: Nature medicine Vol. 23; no. 6; pp. 664 - 673
• Main Authors: Rickman, David S, Beltran, Himisha, Demichelis, Francesca, Rubin, Mark A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01.06.2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 45/23; 45/91; 64/110; 64/60; 692/699/67/1459/1963; 692/699/67/589/466; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Azepines - therapeutic use; Benzodiazepines - therapeutic use; Biological evolution; Biology; Biomedicine; Bladder; Cancer; Cancer Research; Carcinogenesis; Carcinogenesis - genetics; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine - genetics; Carcinoma, Small Cell - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Small Cell - genetics; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Cell Plasticity - genetics; Colonic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Colonic Neoplasms - genetics; Disease Progression; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenetics; Esophageal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Esophageal Neoplasms - genetics; Evolution; Female; Gastrin; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Head and Neck Neoplasms - drug therapy; Head and Neck Neoplasms - genetics; Health aspects; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Male; Medicine; Metabolic Diseases; Metastasis; Molecular Medicine; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Mutation; Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - genetics; Neuroblastoma; Neuroendocrine tumors; Neuroendocrine Tumors - drug therapy; Neuroendocrine Tumors - genetics; Neurosciences; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - genetics; perspective; Prostate; Prostatic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Prostatic Neoplasms - genetics; Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met - genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc - genetics; Pyrimidines - therapeutic use; Retinoblastoma Binding Proteins - genetics; Triazoles - therapeutic use; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - genetics; Tumorigenesis; Tumors; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases - genetics; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - drug therapy; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - genetics; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - drug therapy; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - genetics; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1078-8956; 1546-170X
• DOI: 10.1038/nm.4341

Rubin and colleagues discuss the origin and evolution of poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors, and highlight potential new therapeutic strategies. Neuroendocrine (NE) cancers are a diverse group of neoplasms typically diagnosed and treated on the basis of their site of origin. This Perspective focuses on advances in our understanding of the tumorigenesis and treatment of poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors. Recent evidence from sequencing indicates that, although neuroendocrine tumors can arise de novo , they can also develop as a result of lineage plasticity in response to pressure from targeted therapies. We discuss the shared genomic alterations of these tumors independently of their site of origin, and we explore potential therapeutic strategies on the basis of recent biological findings.