An analogy between the evolution of drug resistance in bacterial communities and malignant tissues

Abstract

There seem to be several overlapping processes that induce resistance to antibiotics for bacteria and chemotherapy for tumour cells. This Perspective discusses how our understanding of bacterial resistance to antibiotics might inform our understanding of the resistance of tumours to therapy. Cancer cells rapidly evolve drug resistance through somatic evolution and, in order to continue growth in the metastatic phase, violate the organism-wide consensus of regulated growth and beneficial communal interactions. We suggest that there is a fundamental mechanistic connection between the rapid evolution of resistance to chemotherapy in cellular communities within malignant tissues and the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacterial communities. We propose that this evolution is the result of a programmed and collective stress response performed by interacting cells, and that, given this fundamental connection, studying bacterial communities can provide deeper insights into the dynamics of adaptation and the evolution of cells within tumours.