TY - JOUR T1 - Pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension: lessons from cancer JF - European Respiratory Review JO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW SP - 543 LP - 551 DO - 10.1183/09059180.00007513 VL - 22 IS - 130 AU - Christophe Guignabert AU - Ly Tu AU - Morane Le Hiress AU - Nicolas Ricard AU - Caroline Sattler AU - Andrei Seferian AU - Alice Huertas AU - Marc Humbert AU - David Montani Y1 - 2013/12/01 UR - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/22/130/543.abstract N2 - Although the causal pathomechanisms contributing to remodelling of the pulmonary vascular bed in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are still unclear, several analogous features with carcinogenesis have led to the emergence of the cancer-like concept. The major similarities concern the altered crosstalk between cells from different tissue types, unexplained proliferation and survival of pulmonary smooth muscle and endothelial cells, the metabolic (glycolytic) shifts, and the association with the immune system. However, major differences between PAH and cancer exist, including the absence of invasion and metastasis, as well as the pathogenic genes involved and the degrees of angiogenesis impairment and genetic instability. It is clear that PAH is not a cancer, but this cancer-like concept has opened a new field of investigation and raises the possibility that antiproliferative and/or oncological drugs may exert therapeutic effects not only in cancer, but also in PAH. Such analogies and differences are discussed here. ER -