Ancestral cancer genes shaping evo-devo: An integrated biochemical and computational approach (Review)

Evo-devo has been shaped by a myriad of natural forces, such as environmental factors, opportunism, survival of the fittest and even disease, including cancer. The influence of the environment and evolutionary stress through natural selection has been driving life since the very beginning. However, it is not only through the development of jaws and claws that species survive and evolve. Disease is just another tool in nature's arsenal of evolution. A repertoire of gene-coding and non-coding regions, as researchers recently begin to understand, play a pivotal role in diseases, including cancer. The present review focuses on elucidating the role of signaling, metabolism and transcription processes as stake holders of evolutionary and developmental biology, namely evo-devo, under the prism of reduced survival and disease through cancer genes. The mechanisms through which ancestral cancer genes can shape evolution and development, when ‘cancer’ is viewed as a robust, evolvable system, are discussed, focusing on its evolutionary origins as an alternative approach.