Clonal evolution

Clonal evolution is the emergence and changing abundance of genetically distinct cell populations as cells acquire heritable variation and selection favors some variants over others.

Somatic mutation: A DNA sequence change acquired by a cell after fertilization and passed to its descendants. New somatic mutations create heritable differences among cell lineages.
Cancer: A group of diseases in which abnormal cells grow and can invade or spread. Tumors evolve through expanding and competing genetically distinct cell populations.
Cell lineage: A sequence of cells connected by descent from an ancestral cell. Clonal evolution tracks how descendants of ancestral cells diverge.
Neutral theory of molecular evolution: The theory that most molecular evolutionary changes are caused by genetic drift acting on neutral mutations. It contrasts adaptive explanations with changes that spread without conferring a fitness advantage.
Natural selection: The change in heritable trait frequencies caused by differences in survival or reproduction. Selection changes the relative abundance of cell clones with different traits.
Tumor heterogeneity: The variation in genetic, molecular, or cellular properties among cancer cells in a tumor. It is a visible outcome of mutation and selection within tumors.
Clonal selection: The expansion of cells bearing traits that improve their survival or reproduction in a particular environment. It describes how advantageous cell variants become more common.
Punctuated equilibrium: An evolutionary model proposing long periods of relative stability interrupted by geologically brief episodes of change. Its pattern of change differs from gradual, continuous shifts in clone frequencies.
Genetic drift: Random changes in genetic variant frequencies caused by chance sampling in a population. Chance can alter clone frequencies even when variants confer no selective advantage.
Metastasis: The spread of cancer cells from a primary tumor to distant sites, where they form new tumors. Disseminated lineages face new environments and undergo further selection.

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