4 ms·
The author's last word: we need to consider that the system of cancer goes far beyond the biochemistry of cancer cells. Cancer relates to our fundamental const
by xherberta 10y ago
The author's last word:
we need to consider that the system of cancer goes far beyond the biochemistry of cancer cells. Cancer relates to our fundamental constitution as multicellular organisms, our limited lifespan, the epidemiology of the aging population, socioeconomics and the future of society. Those who believe that the problem of cancer can be solved by killing or reprogramming cancer cells need to take a step back from the molecular technicalities and take a look at the bigger picture.
- jessriedel 10y agoHow cancer fits into the evolutionary context is obviously important to understand, but the author's conclusion is unfounded. Cancer rates in the ancestral environment is set by a balance between costs and benefits of anti-cancer mechanism. But we are not in the ancestral environment, and there's no a priori reason (Darwinian, thermodynamic, or otherwise) to think that cancer rates couldn't be driven down to negligible rates given our much greater resources.