Overview
Significant challenges exist in understanding and tackling tumor heterogeneity across the initiation-progression-resistance spectrum. Central to this challenge is cellular plasticity, which covers wide-ranging adaptive responses and biological endpoints throughout the course of early lesion progression to tumor formation and response to therapy. Although epigenetic, transcriptomic, and metabolic mechanisms have been associated with cellular plasticity, the molecular underpinnings are still not well understood, highlighting the need to better understand the non-genetic factors underlying these critical cell state transitions.
The “Understanding plasticity and its role across the cancer continuum” workshop will identify roadblocks and challenges in improving our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying plasticity and raise awareness of the significance of cell plasticity in cancer development, progression, and treatment response.