The same starting point for different cancers

How different cancer subtypes develop   are they derived from distinct origin cells, or from the same cell? This question, debated for decades in cancer biology, is now gaining new insights thanks to the work of Michael Herfs' team, an FNRS qualified researcher at ULiège, in collaboration with researchers from Université Paris Cité and Sorbonne Université. This research was made possible especially through an Audacious Medical Grant (AMG) from the FNRS. The AMG is financed by private donations and sponsorships, and it allows for the support of medical or biomedical research projects that are original and bold but do not find support in traditional funding channels due to a lack of preliminary data, absence of prior work, or an unusual methodology.

Scientists have focused on adenosquamous carcinomas of the cervix, rare but particularly instructive tumors. These indeed combine two types of cancer cells, glandular and squamous, within the same tumor, in a common context of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. An ideal model to understand how multiple tumor identities can develop and coexist.   Their assessment is unequivocal.   these cancer cells share a common origin. They notably display identical viral characteristics (same HPV variants and same integration sites in human DNA) as well as some of their genetic alterations.

These results challenge the classic idea that each cancer subtype originates from a specific source cell. Instead, they support a model where a progenitor cell, potentially multipotent, can give rise to phenotypically distinct tumor cells. Beyond the case of the cervix, this discovery opens new perspectives for understanding tumor heterogeneity, a major issue in oncology, especially to explain certain resistances to treatments. It suggests that the diversity observed within cancers could, in many cases, result from an early divergence from the same initial event. By providing a clear answer to a longstanding controversy, this work establishes a new framework for understanding tumor plasticity and better guiding, ultimately, the choice of treatments.

Michael Herfs , Qualified FNRS Researcher, ULiège
Florian Poulain , Scientist R&D, postdoctoral researcher (2024-2025), PhD student  Télévie (2020-2023), ULiège
And others.