“The speciation theory has the potential to explain all five common characteristics of cancers—autonomy, individuality, flexibility, immortality, and long latencies from carcinogen exposure to cancer—in a way that competing mutation theories do not.”
Millions of people may play host to the dawn of new parasitic species in their lifetimes—deadly, immortal, and reproducing out of control.
That’s the profile of cancer, viewed through the lens of a theory about the individuality of tumors, their development, and why they so often strike late in life. It’s a take that, while not offering a simple approach to treating cancer, at the very least offers fresh hope for its prevention.
The theory of cancer speciation has been evolving ever since the evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley first proposed it in 1956. Now a new paper, published by University of California molecular and cell biologist Peter Duesberg and his colleagues in the journal Cell Cycle, suggests that because cancers are immortal, evolve from normal cells exposed to carcinogens only after long periods of time, have their own set of chromosomes, and are reproductively autonomous, they might be best thought of and identified as individual species.
The speciation theory has the potential to explain all five common characteristics of cancers—autonomy, individuality, flexibility, immortality, and long latencies from carcinogen exposure to cancer—in a way that competing mutation theories do not, argues Duesberg and his colleagues.
“Our cancer theory proposes that carcinogens initiate carcinogenesis by inducing aneuploidy, i.e., losses or gains of chromosomes—a function that all carcinogens have in common.”
Recognizing the unique chromosomal makeup of newly evolved cancers under a microscope, it may be possible to detect cancers earlier. “I’m not saying all this is easy,” says Duesberg. “But it’s being done in principal already. It could be done automatically and could catch cancer early and possibly prevent it.”
Pap smears, for instance, already flag changes to the shape of cervical cells as an indication of chromosomal problems that could lead to cervical cancer.
“It’s like an unbalanced wheel on your car,” says Duesberg. “Sooner or later, the wheel might fall off or the axle might break.” But it takes a long time before a random modification of an existing autonomous set of chromosomes evolves into another autonomous set defining a cancerous species. That opening, Duesberg says, is an Achilles heel that could allow doctors time to intervene and prevent cancers long before they’ve metastasized.
So far, Duesberg says he’s had positive reactions to the paper. He hopes that now the carcinogenesis-equals-speciation theory will spur new approaches to diagnosing and treating cancer.
July 29, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-different_take_on_cancer_suggests_early_chance_for_prevention.html