Encouraging non-cancerous mutations that compete for resources with cancerous mutations is a novel approach for curing some cancers, but there are many other novel and plausible approaches. Cancer is a complicated and diverse disease; maybe we will eventually see “cancer” as many different diseases. We have too much uncertainty to mandate one centrally planned approach. Plus citizens have the right to keep the money they earn and to choose how to spend that money. We should keep taxation and regulations low so that diverse funders can follow their judgements to fund diverse approaches. [Most of what I just wrote, I also wrote for an earlier entry.]
(p. D3) Cancer is a disease of mutations. Tumor cells are riddled with genetic mutations not found in healthy cells. Scientists estimate that it takes five to 10 key mutations for a healthy cell to become cancerous.
Some of these mutations can be caused by assaults from the environment, such as ultraviolet rays and cigarette smoke. Others arise from harmful molecules produced by the cells themselves. In recent years, researchers have begun taking a closer look at these mutations, to try to understand how they arise in healthy cells, and what causes these cells to later erupt into full-blown cancer.
The research has produced some major surprises. For instance, it turns out that a large portion of the cells in healthy people carry far more mutations than expected, including some mutations thought to be the prime drivers of cancer. These mutations make a cell grow faster than others, raising the question of why full-blown cancer isn’t far more common.
“This is quite a fundamental piece of biology that we were unaware of,” said Inigo Martincorena, a geneticist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, England.
. . .
Dr. Martincorena and his colleagues reported their findings on Thursday [Oct. 18, 2018] in the journal Science.
By examining the mutations, the researchers were able to rule out external causes for them, like tobacco smoke or alcohol. Instead, the mutations seem to have arisen through ordinary aging. As the cells divided over and over again, their DNA sometimes was damaged. In other words, the rise of these mutations may just be an intrinsic part of getting older.
. . .
The study . . . raised questions about efforts to detect cancer at its earliest stages, when cancer cells are still rare, Dr. Kennedy said: “Just because someone has mutations associated with cancer doesn’t mean actually they have a malignancy.”
Given the abundance of cancer mutations in healthy people, why isn’t cancer more common? Dr. Martincorena speculated that a healthy body may be like an ecosystem: Perhaps clones with different mutations arise in it, compete for available space and resources, and keep each other in check.
If so, fighting cancer might one day be a matter of helping harmless clones outcompete the ones that can lead to deadly tumors.
For the full commentary see:
(Note: ellipses added.)
(Note: the online version of the commentary has the date Oct. 18, 2018 [sic], and has the title “Matter; Researchers Explore a Cancer Paradox.”)
The academic article in Science co-authored by Martincorena and mentioned above is: