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Reuniting philosophy and science to advance cancer research |
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| Authors: | Thomas Pradeu Bertrand Daignan-Fornier Andrew Ewald Pierre-Luc Germain Samir Okasha Anya Plutynski Sébastien Benzekry Marta Bertolaso Mina Bissell Joel S. Brown Benjamin Chin-Yee Ian Chin-Yee Hans Clevers Laurent Cognet Marie Darrason Emmanuel Farge Jean Feunteun Jérôme Galon Elodie Giroux Sara Green Fridolin Gross Fanny Jaulin Rob Knight Ezio Laconi Nicolas Larmonier Carlo Maley Alberto Mantovani Violaine Moreau Pierre Nassoy Elena Rondeau David Santamaria Catherine M. Sawai Andrei Seluanov Gregory D. Sepich-Poore Vanja Sisirak Eric Solary Sarah Yvonnet Lucie Laplane |
| Affiliation: | 1. CNRS UMR5164 ImmunoConcEpT, University of Bordeaux, 146 rue Leo Saignat, Bordeaux, 33076 France;2. CNRS UMR 5095 Institut de Biochimie et Génétique Cellulaires, University of Bordeaux, 1 rue Camille St Saens, Bordeaux, 33077 France Equal contribution.;3. Departments of Cell Biology and Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205 USA Equal contribution.;4. Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Neurosciences, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zürich, 8092 Switzerland Department of Molecular Life Sciences, Laboratory of Statistical Bioinformatics, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich, 8057 Switzerland Equal contribution.;5. Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol, Cotham House, Bristol, BS6 6JL UK Equal contribution.;6. Department of Philosophy, Washington University in St. Louis, and Associate with Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, St. Louis, MO, 63105 USA Equal contribution.;7. Computational Pharmacology and Clinical Oncology (COMPO) Unit, Inria Sophia Antipolis-Méditerranée, Cancer Research Center of Marseille, Inserm UMR1068, CNRS UMR7258, Aix Marseille University UM105, 27, bd Jean Moulin, Marseille, 13005 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;8. Research Unit of Philosophy of Science and Human Development, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo, 21-00128, Rome, Italy Centre for Cancer Biomarkers, University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007 Norway Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;9. Biological Systems & Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd, Berkeley, CA, 94720 USA Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;10. Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;11. Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, 800 Commissioners Rd E, London, ON, Canada Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street North, London, ON, Canada Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;12. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, 800 Commissioners Rd E, London, ON, Canada Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;13. Pharma, Research and Early Development (pRED) of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Grenzacherstrasse 124, Basel, 4070 Switzerland Oncode Institute, Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and University Medical Center, Uppsalalaan 8, Utrecht, 3584 CT The Netherlands Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;14. CNRS UMR 5298, Laboratoire Photonique Numérique et Nanosciences, University of Bordeaux, Rue François Mitterrand, Talence, 33400 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;15. Department of Pneumology and Thoracic Oncology, University Hospital of Lyon, 165 Chem. du Grand Revoyet, 69310 Pierre Bénite, Lyon, France Lyon Institute of Philosophical Research, Lyon 3 Jean Moulin University, 1 Av. des Frères Lumière, Lyon, 69007 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;16. Mechanics and Genetics of Embryonic and Tumor Development group, Institut Curie, CNRS, UMR168, Inserm, Centre Origines et conditions d'apparition de la vie (OCAV) Paris Sciences Lettres Research University, Sorbonne University, Institut Curie, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, 75005 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;17. INSERM U981, Gustave Roussy, 114 Rue Edouard Vaillant, Villejuif, 94800 France;18. INSERM UMRS1138, Integrative Cancer Immunology, Cordelier Research Center, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 15 rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, 75006 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;19. Lyon Institute of Philosophical Research, Lyon 3 Jean Moulin University, 1 Av. des Frères Lumière, Lyon, 69007 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;20. Section for History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, Rådmandsgade 64, Copenhagen, 2200 Denmark Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;21. CNRS UMR5164 ImmunoConcEpT, University of Bordeaux, 146 rue Leo Saignat, Bordeaux, 33076 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;22. INSERM U1279, Gustave Roussy, 114 Rue Edouard Vaillant, Villejuif, 94800 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;23. Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, 3223 Voigt Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093 USA Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093 USA Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093 USA Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;24. Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Cagliari, Via Università 40, Cagliari, 09124 Italy Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;25. Arizona Cancer Evolution Center, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, 85287 USA School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, 85287 USA Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society, Arizona State University, 1001 S McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ, 85287 USA Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, 1001 S McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ, 85287 USA Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, 85287 USA Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;26. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 4 Via Rita Levi Montalcini, 20090 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Istituto Clinico Humanitas Humanitas Cancer Center (IRCCS) Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, Rozzano, Milan, 20089 Italy The William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, EC1M 6BQ UK Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;27. INSERM UMR1312, Bordeaux Institute of Oncology (BRIC), University of Bordeaux, 146 Rue Léo Saignat, Bordeaux, 33076 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;28. INSERM U1111, ENS Lyon and Centre International de Recherche en Infectionlogie (CIRI), 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon, 69007 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;29. Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer Program, Centro de Investigación del Cáncer, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)-University of Salamanca, Salamanca, 37007 Spain Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;30. Department of Biology and Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627 USA Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;31. Micronoma, 6342 Ferris Square, San Diego, CA, 92121 USA Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;32. INSERM U1287, Gustave Roussy, 114 Rue Edouard Vaillant, Villejuif, 94800 France Département d'hématologie, Gustave Roussy, 114 Rue Edouard Vaillant, Villejuif, 94800 France Université Paris-Saclay, Faculté de Médecine, 63 Rue Gabriel Péri, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, 94270 France Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;33. Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen, DK-2200 Denmark Equal contribution, alphabetic order.;34. CNRS UMR8590, Institut d'Histoire et Philosophie des Sciences et des Technique, University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, 13 rue du Four, Paris, 75006 France |
| Abstract: | Cancers rely on multiple, heterogeneous processes at different scales, pertaining to many biomedical fields. Therefore, understanding cancer is necessarily an interdisciplinary task that requires placing specialised experimental and clinical research into a broader conceptual, theoretical, and methodological framework. Without such a framework, oncology will collect piecemeal results, with scant dialogue between the different scientific communities studying cancer. We argue that one important way forward in service of a more successful dialogue is through greater integration of applied sciences (experimental and clinical) with conceptual and theoretical approaches, informed by philosophical methods. By way of illustration, we explore six central themes: (i) the role of mutations in cancer; (ii) the clonal evolution of cancer cells; (iii) the relationship between cancer and multicellularity; (iv) the tumour microenvironment; (v) the immune system; and (vi) stem cells. In each case, we examine open questions in the scientific literature through a philosophical methodology and show the benefit of such a synergy for the scientific and medical understanding of cancer. |
| Keywords: | driver mutation clonal evolution multicellularity tumorigenesis tumour microenvironment oncoimmunology cancer stem cells philosophy of cancer |