TY - JOUR AB - Evo-devo has been shaped by a myriad of natural forces, such as environmental factors, opportunism, survival of the fittest and even disease, including cancer. The influence of the environment and evolutionary stress through natural selection has been driving life since the very beginning. However, it is not only through the development of jaws and claws that species survive and evolve. Disease is just another tool in nature's arsenal of evolution. A repertoire of gene-coding and non-coding regions, as researchers recently begin to understand, play a pivotal role in diseases, including cancer. The present review focuses on elucidating the role of signaling, metabolism and transcription processes as stake holders of evolutionary and developmental biology, namely evo-devo, under the prism of reduced survival and disease through cancer genes. The mechanisms through which ancestral cancer genes can shape evolution and development, when ‘cancer’ is viewed as a robust, evolvable system, are discussed, focusing on its evolutionary origins as an alternative approach. AD - Genetics and Computational Biology Group, Laboratory of Genetics, Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece Hellenic Agricultural Organization-Demeter, Institute of Soil and Water Resources, Department of Soil Science of Athens, 13561 Athens, Greece Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, ‘Aghia Sophia’ Children's Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece Section of Molecular Pathology and Human Genetics, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Center of Clinical, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of The Academy of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece AU - Vlachakis,Dimitrios AU - Papakonstantinou,Eleni AU - Efthimiadou,Aspasia AU - Bacopoulou,Flora AU - Goulielmos,George AU - P. Chrousos,George AU - Eliopoulos,Elias DA - 2020/07/01 DO - 10.3892/wasj.2020.48 IS - 4 JO - World Acad Sci J KW - evo-devo ancestral genes cancer signaling metabolism transcription PY - 2020 SN - 2632-2900 2632-2919 SP - 7 ST - Ancestral cancer genes shaping evo-devo: An integrated biochemical and computational approach (Review) T2 - World Academy of Sciences Journal TI - Ancestral cancer genes shaping evo-devo: An integrated biochemical and computational approach (Review) UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2020.48 VL - 2 ER -