Despite the click-bait title, this piece gives a good overview of the latest in cancer research. As noted in a post last week, cancer is a genetic disease, the result of natural cell processes spiraling out of control. Thus, to combat cancer is to combat evolution in action. (More apt is the analogy of finding needles in a haystack as the hay is multiplying.) With these basic principles in mind, a few basic facts and relationships spring to the fore. The longer you live, the more likely you are to develop cancer. Likewise, the larger you are physically, the more cells you have and thus the more potential for malignant cell proliferation. A panacea, or single cure, for cancer is a pipe dream. We dont know from where the next breakthrough will come - perhaps nanotechnology, perhaps multi-drug cocktails tailored to specific mutations. Cancer is a problem with no convergent solutions and manifold barriers to research. In the book, Johnson cites a stunning estimate by MIT cancer researcher Robert Weinberg: About 4 million of our bodys cells are dividing and copying their DNA every second of every day. With every replication, there is a potential for mistakes, and a risk of developing cancer. Thankfully, weve evolved solutions to rogue errors, and our bodies can repair or destroy precancerous cells the vast majority of the time. Yet the risk can never be zero, because without this process of cell division and regeneration, we would quickly cease to live.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:54:14 +0000
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