Conflicting Signals for Cancer Treatment

Next-generation sequencing technologies have provided us with a precise description of the mutational burden of cancers, making it possible to identify targetable oncogene addictions. However, the emergence of resistant clones is an inevitable limitation of therapies targeting these addictions. Alternative approaches to cancer treatment are therefore required. We propose here a novel approach, based on the notion of conflicting signals and on a phenotypic description of cancer cells. Phenotype is an inherently complex notion that we describe in the conceptual framework of the epigenetic landscape, with a view to bridging the gap between theory and practice at the patient's bedside. By passing from theory to the description of several examples, we will illustrate how this approach can facilitate data analysis and the design of new strategies for cancer treatment. (C) 2016 AACR.