The terms ‘development’ and ‘evolution’ are both used to describe the unfolding of the carcinogenic process. However, there is increasing awareness of an essential difference in the meanings of these two terms with reference to cancer. We discuss evidence suggesting that the concepts of development and evolution are both pertinent to the description of carcinogenesis; however, they appropriately apply to distinct phases of a multistep process. Such a distinction bears important implications for the study and management of cancer.

中文翻译：

---

癌症生物学的发展与进化。

术语“发展”和“进化”均用于描述致癌过程的展开。但是，人们越来越意识到这两个术语在癌症方面的本质区别。我们讨论的证据表明，发展和进化的概念都与致癌作用的描述有关。但是，它们适当地适用于多步骤过程的不同阶段。这种区别对癌症的研究和治疗具有重要意义。