Figure 2
Comparison of conventional and etiologic field effect models, using colon cancer as an example. (a) In the conventional field effect model, a field of alteration ‘X’ in normal tissue (eg, colon) makes an individual prone to cancer development within that field. Normal colon in the field, and resulting synchronous tumors, show the same molecular alteration ‘X’. (b) In an ‘etiologic field effect’ model, etiologic factors (which can be multifactorial) generate a field of tissue microenvironmental changes, favoring the development of cancers through a common carcinogenic pathway characterized by molecular alteration ‘X’. In this setting, resulting synchronous tumors demonstrate the same alteration ‘X’, but normal tissue (eg, colon) need not necessarily display the same molecular feature.
