Trends

Despite extensive research, we lack a full explanation for why certain tissues exhibit more susceptibility to cancer than others. An approach focusing on the evolutionary ecology of organs could provide intriguing insights that transcend the dichotomist search for intrinsic versus extrinsic risk factors.

Organs in which malignant cells emerge, survive, and proliferate can be viewed as specialized islands in a living landscape, each with its own distinct ecologies.

All organs serve the organism as a whole, but they differ in how crucial they are to survival and reproduction.

Selection for cancer suppression should be stronger for organs that are more essential for the host's survival and Darwinian fitness.