Somatic mutations have traditionally been associated with cancer, yet more recently, it was realized that they also appear in nontransformed cells beginning in early life. Remarkably, some of these mutations, commonly viewed as cancer driver mutations, are widely spread among cells of noncancerous tissues, sometimes affecting the majority of the tissue cells. This spreading process intensifies upon aging or exposure to extrinsic insults, such as UV irradiation, inhaling smoke, and inflammatory cues. Whereas classic driver mutations in normal cells are mostly viewed as a first step in the carcinogenesis process, here, we speculate that in certain states, they can play beneficial homeostatic roles while confronting stress and aging tissue repair.

体细胞突变传统上与癌症有关，但最近，人们意识到它们也出现在生命早期的非转化细胞中。值得注意的是，这些突变中的一些，通常被视为癌症驱动突变，广泛分布在非癌组织的细胞中，有时会影响大多数组织细胞。这种传播过程在老化或暴露于外在损害（如紫外线照射、吸入烟雾和炎症信号）时会加剧。虽然正常细胞中的经典驱动突变大多被视为致癌过程的第一步，但在这里，我们推测在某些状态下，它们可以在应对压力和老化组织修复时发挥有益的稳态作用。