The multiple facets of Peto's paradox: a life-history model for the evolution of cancer suppression.

ABSTRACT: Large animals should have higher lifetime probabilities of cancer than small animals because each cell division carries an attendant risk of mutating towards a tumour lineage. However, this is not observed--a (Peto's) paradox that suggests large and/or long-lived species have evolved effective cancer suppression mechanisms. Using the Euler-Lotka population model, we demonstrate the evolutionary value of cancer suppression as determined by the 'cost' (decreased fecundity) of suppression verses the 'cost' of cancer (reduced survivorship). Body size per se will not select for sufficient cancer suppression to explain the paradox. Rather, cancer suppression should be most extreme when the probability of non-cancer death decreases with age (e.g. alligators), maturation is delayed, fecundity rate

SUBMITTER: Brown JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4581026 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature