Thanks for this important article, Nita. I'm sure diet is critical to cancer avoidance, as it is to nearly every malady I can imagine. More veggies and leafy green salads, plus fruit. It's a lesson I have to keep re-learning. I'll never give up my morning coffee, though.
Always appreciate your wisdom, Tom. The flavonoids in your coffee can support cardiovascular and brain health and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and cancer too.
We do know that loss / gain of function mutations can drive clinical phenotype, but your point that we over bias on that (and not enough on TMEm or immune TME, etc) is well put. I really like this article about how the genes as software metaphors may have hampered us from seeing the problem more holistically (ecologically?) and critically.
Thanks for sharing the additional reading, Ben! The "genes as hardware" metaphor has indeed trapped us in a reductionist framework that views cancer as a series of genetic typos rather than ecological disruption.
Mukherjee's work suggests that cancer cells aren't just mutants but opportunists that exploit and reshape their environments like invasive species thriving in disturbed ecosystems.
Honestly you put the point more concisely and poignantly! But you all highlight the point that we all need to be open and vigilant to the complexity of cancer emergence to address it properly. Grateful for your words! 🙏🏼
Great post! I saw a presentation about the impacts of TME from Mina Bissell in grad school. I believe her lab did a lot of this pioneering work. It’s a great question of seed vs soil, which also presents questions about metastasis - as some tissues are far more likely to receive secondary tumors for a given tumor subtype.
Great point, David! I'm reminded of parallels to autoimmune diseases and how having one increases the risk of developing another autoimmune condition. Many diseases seem to involve similar pathways, which could account for the high co-incidence of certain comorbidities.
Unicellular organisms don't get cancer, but I suspect you're referring to large mammals like blue whales that experience very low rates of cancer. We know that blue whales have more copies and higher turnover of tumor suppressor genes (TSG) as well as lower basal metabolic rates per unit mass, both of which significantly slow cancer development and progression.
Thanks for this important article, Nita. I'm sure diet is critical to cancer avoidance, as it is to nearly every malady I can imagine. More veggies and leafy green salads, plus fruit. It's a lesson I have to keep re-learning. I'll never give up my morning coffee, though.
Always appreciate your wisdom, Tom. The flavonoids in your coffee can support cardiovascular and brain health and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and cancer too.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Yes, the power of soil over seed. Thank you Nita for spreading this information!
I remember reading two sidd mukherjee articles, germane to your point:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/11/cancers-invasion-equation
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/18/all-the-carcinogens-we-cannot-see
We do know that loss / gain of function mutations can drive clinical phenotype, but your point that we over bias on that (and not enough on TMEm or immune TME, etc) is well put. I really like this article about how the genes as software metaphors may have hampered us from seeing the problem more holistically (ecologically?) and critically.
https://aeon.co/essays/we-need-new-metaphors-that-put-life-at-the-centre-of-biology
Thanks for sharing the additional reading, Ben! The "genes as hardware" metaphor has indeed trapped us in a reductionist framework that views cancer as a series of genetic typos rather than ecological disruption.
Mukherjee's work suggests that cancer cells aren't just mutants but opportunists that exploit and reshape their environments like invasive species thriving in disturbed ecosystems.
Honestly you put the point more concisely and poignantly! But you all highlight the point that we all need to be open and vigilant to the complexity of cancer emergence to address it properly. Grateful for your words! 🙏🏼
Great post! I saw a presentation about the impacts of TME from Mina Bissell in grad school. I believe her lab did a lot of this pioneering work. It’s a great question of seed vs soil, which also presents questions about metastasis - as some tissues are far more likely to receive secondary tumors for a given tumor subtype.
Great point, David! I'm reminded of parallels to autoimmune diseases and how having one increases the risk of developing another autoimmune condition. Many diseases seem to involve similar pathways, which could account for the high co-incidence of certain comorbidities.
some organisms do not get cancer. do you admit that that is because of genetic differences between those organisms and humans?
Unicellular organisms don't get cancer, but I suspect you're referring to large mammals like blue whales that experience very low rates of cancer. We know that blue whales have more copies and higher turnover of tumor suppressor genes (TSG) as well as lower basal metabolic rates per unit mass, both of which significantly slow cancer development and progression.