The Hallmarks of Cancer

The Hallmarks of Cancer are a specific set of characteristics that are inherent to cancer. The Hallmarks were published by Hanahan and Weinberg in 2000 (updated in 2011) and have become extremely recognisable in the cancer research community both as a scientific concept and as a strong, visual image.

The Hallmarks of Cancer have been an area of study for several years and a key focus of research into causes and progression of cancer. One such study by a lab in Sweden using the Whitely H35 Hypoxystation (pictured below), entitled “Therapeutic targeting of hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factors in cancer” by Wigerup, Pahlman and Bexell links cancer characteristics with hypoxia as an underlying cause.  This review of hypoxia-driven cancer characteristics and tumour progression makes a crucial connection between hypoxia and the “Hallmarks of Cancer”, a set of specific characteristics that are inherent to cancer. There are many more publications showing that hypoxia is intimately involved in every aspect of the disease complex cancer.  

The image above summarises the 9 Hallmarks of Cancer. The Hypoxystation in the middle of the graphic symbolises how the low oxygen environment re-creates the atmosphere where cancer cells are required to act in a physiological manner. The dial around the Hypoxystation indicates the different levels of oxygen required for specific types of cancer work. Ultimately, the graphic shows how the Hypoxystation facilitates a level of oxygen that cannot be achieved reliably in an incubator, and which is necessary to effectively research cancer therapies.