Tumorigenic
Tumorigenic refers to the property of cells, tissues, or agents to initiate and develop tumors. In cancer biology, tumorigenicity describes the capacity of transformed cells to form tumors when introduced into a suitable host, typically immunocompromised animals, or to grow as malignant masses in culture. In virology, certain viruses or viral oncogenes can confer tumorigenic potential to infected cells. The term is distinct from oncogenicity in that tumorigenicity specifically implies tumor formation in vivo or in tumor-forming assays, whereas oncogenic mutations may promote uncontrolled growth without necessarily yielding a discernible tumor in a particular model.
Tumorigenicity arises from genetic and epigenetic changes that promote cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and angiogenesis, including
In regenerative medicine and stem cell research, pluripotent stem cells can be tumorigenic because residual undifferentiated
Terminology notes: tumorigenicity is a property assessed in experimental settings and is influenced by model choice