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We can tell a lot about a person knowing his or her origins. It doesn’t define the whole person but it can give us a clue about his or her behavior in certain situations. The same is true with animals, bacteria and viruses. Suppose we apply this to the origins of cancer. But where does cancer really come from?

Some history

To date, our knowledge on the origins of cancer is focused on a causative agent, the so-called action-reaction theory. An excellent example is cigarette smoking or exposure to industrial compounds for some years. The causative agent produces an increased mutation in the genes of the cells of the lung and causes cancer. 15% of cancer causation is explained by this theory. This developed in the 1950s. But it doesn’t explain treatment resistance, metastasis and cancer recurrence. What behavior of cancer actually kills? more…