文章：

癌症与衰老的演化：一部受限的历史

The evolution of cancer and ageing: a history of constraint

原文发布日期：2025-08-26

DOI: 10.1038/s41568-025-00861-4

类型: Perspective

开放获取: 否

英文摘要：

Ageing and cancer are ubiquitous in animals. They are fundamental and generally intrinsic to multicellular life. Nonetheless, ageing and cancer rates vary widely across species and understanding their evolution and interaction is of great biological interest. Although cancer arises from uncontrolled cell proliferation, ageing involves cell loss and degeneration, making them seemingly opposite yet interconnected processes. Because cancer can affect young individuals, natural selection will favour the evolution of cancer resistance over processes that maintain health in later life. As such, I propose that species evolve longer lifespans under the constraints imposed by the need to reduce cancer risk. Mechanisms that suppress cancer, such as telomere shortening and cellular senescence, may inadvertently promote ageing by limiting cell proliferation and tissue regeneration. Selection for tumour suppression may also impact stem cell ageing and contribute to the limited ability of adult tissues to regenerate. Overall, although cancer resistance is essential for the evolution of longevity, tumour suppression mechanisms may also contribute to ageing-related tissue degeneration and functional decline. Studying the trade-offs between the evolution of tumour suppression processes and their impact later in life may provide important insights into ageing processes.

摘要翻译： 

衰老与癌症在动物中普遍存在。它们是多细胞生命体的基本特征，通常内源性地存在。然而，不同物种间的衰老和癌症发生率差异很大，理解其进化过程及其相互作用具有重要的生物学意义。尽管癌症源于不受控的细胞增殖，而衰老则涉及细胞的丢失与退化，看似两者相互对立却又密切相关。由于癌症可能影响年轻个体，自然选择将倾向于癌变抵抗能力的进化，以维持后期健康状态。基于此，我认为物种在需要降低癌症风险的限制下，将会发展出更长的寿命。抑制癌症的机制（如端粒缩短和细胞衰老）可能会无意中促进衰老，因为它们会限制细胞增殖和组织再生。对肿瘤抑制的选择也可能影响干细胞的衰老过程，并增强成年组织自我更新的能力有限。总的来说，尽管癌变抵抗是维持老年长寿进化的关键，但肿瘤抑制机制也可能促进与衰老相关的组织退化和功能下降。研究肿瘤抑制机制与其后期影响之间的权衡关系，可能会为理解衰老过程提供重要启示。

原文链接：

The evolution of cancer and ageing: a history of constraint