Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42676610›Full record

ArticleMedical review (2021)2026

Evolution of malignant tumors as neoorgan and predictions of future scenarios resulting from inappropriate treatment.

Qianqian Chen, Shuai Tian, Enqiang Linghu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical review (2021), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Qianqian ChenDepartment of Gastroenterology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Shuai TianDepartment of Gastroenterology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Enqiang LinghuDepartment of Gastroenterology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4506-7877

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Malignant tumors have long been viewed as uncontrolled cell proliferation driven by somatic mutations. However, emerging multi-omics and microenvironment evidence challenges this paradigm. Advanced tumors transcend cellular abnormality to form a "neoorgan" - a complex tissue ecosystem with multicellular coordination, functional autonomy, metabolic symbiosis, neural integration, and evolutionary potential. Genomic instability generates lineage-specific karyotypes; tumors reactivate ancient gene modules from primitive multicellular organisms; they actively remodel immune function via mitochondrial transfer; and they establish functional connections with the nervous system. Based on this evolutionary trajectory, we propose testable predictions: tumors may progress from a parasitic neoorgan toward an independent species, as exemplified by naturally occurring transmissible tumors and the "tumor-derived animal" hypothesis. Recognizing cancer as an evolutionary entity striving for independence - rather than a mere genetic malfunction - demands a fundamental shift in therapeutic strategy. Instead of solely cytotoxic "killing", rational approaches may aim to reintegrate the tumor into host regulatory networks or guide its evolution toward self-destruction. This framework expands tumor biology and challenges conventional boundaries between disease, life, and species.

Indexed as

multicellularity re-evolutionneoorganspeciationtransmissible tumortumor evolution

Identifiers

PMID42676610
PMCPMC13526688

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.