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Cancer As Development Gone Awry| old_uid | 8646 |
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| title | Cancer As Development Gone Awry |
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| start_date | 2010/05/05 |
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| schedule | 17h-18h30 |
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| online | no |
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| summary | The realization that a reductionist program has failed to bring about a more robust understanding of complex phenomena has resulted in an ongoing re-appraisal of old research traditions in embryology and cancer research. Despite studies dating from the end of the 19th century illustrating phenomena such as environmentally triggered polyphenism, the dominant view in developmental biology toward the end of the 20th century was that development was the unraveling of a genetic program where the environment played no relevant role. Also, during the last half of the 20th century, the somatic mutation theory (SMT) dominanted cancer explanations. The premises of this theory are: (i) cancer is derived from a single somatic cell that has accumulated multiple DNA mutations, (ii) the default state in metazoan cells is proliferative quiescence, and (iii) cancer is a disease of cell proliferation caused by mutations in genes that control the cell cycle. The research programs and policies emanating from this theory have fallen short both in explaining the causes of cancer and in providing effective treatments. Due to these shortcomings, an older tradition, centered at the tissue level of organization, has been updated as the tissue organization field theory (TOFT) of carcinogenesis and neoplasia and is gaining momentum. This tradition originated in the late 19th century when pathologists began describing the histological pattern of tumors using merely the light microscope and suggesting that altered tissue organization was at the core of neoplasia, thus linking carcinogenesis to embryonic development. In contrast to the SMT, the TOFT postulates that: (i) carcinogenesis represents a problem of tissue organization, (ii) proliferation is the default state of all cells, and (iii) carcinogenesis is a reversible phenomenon. Carcinogens, as well as teratogens, would disrupt the normal dynamic interaction of neighboring cells and tissues during early development and throughout adulthood. According to this theory, carcinogenesis is comparable to organogenesis gone awry. |
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| oncancel | Nouveau |
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| responsibles | Longo, Mossio |
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