Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026
14:39
Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
32.5K
Moving the systemic evolutionary approach to cancer forward: Therapeutic implications
Antonio Mazzocca1, Giovanni Ferraro2, Giovanni Misciagna3
1Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University of Bari School of Medicine, Piazza G. Cesare, 11, 70124 Bari, Italy.
Medical Hypotheses
|November 7, 2018
Summary
Cancer develops from cell endosymbiosis failure, leading to tissue and cell organization changes. This systemic evolutionary theory of cancer (SETOC) suggests new ecosystemic therapeutic approaches beyond molecular targets.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Oncology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- The Systemic Evolutionary Theory of Cancer (SETOC) posits cancer arises from failed endosymbiosis within eukaryotic cells.
- Progressive uncoupling of cellular information and energy subsystems due to injury disrupts tissue interactions and cell organization.
- This disruption leads to tissue dysplasia and cell regression towards a protist-like state, termed 'de-emergence'.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose that impaired intercellular communication and cellular organization changes underpin cancer development.
- To associate cancer cells with protist-like organisms, suggesting novel therapeutic strategies.
- To advocate for a paradigm shift in cancer pharmacology from microvariable molecular targets to macrovariable and ecosystemic approaches.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical framework based on systemic evolutionary principles and endosymbiotic theory.
- Analysis of cancer pathophysiology as a complex system, integrating micro-, meso-, and macrovariables.
- Conceptualization of 'de-emergence' and the 'cancer ecosystem' for therapeutic strategy development.
Main Results:
- Impaired intercellular communication and cellular coherence contribute to dysplasia and cancer onset.
- Cancer cells exhibit characteristics of 'de-emerged' protist-like entities.
- Current molecular pharmacology is insufficient; a shift towards modular or ecosystemic treatments is proposed.
Conclusions:
- A systemic evolutionary approach offers a new perspective on cancer pathophysiology.
- Treatments should address the 'cancer ecosystem' using synergistic agents or physical methods like pulsed electromagnetic fields.
- This framework could guide the development of novel, integrated cancer therapies, exemplified by liver cancer applications.
Related Concept Videos
02:35What is Evolutionary History?
43.4K
Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.
43.4K
01:20Evolutionary Psychology
1.0K
Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...
1.0K
01:23Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
375
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
375
02:54Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
7.0K
Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
7.0K
01:13Therapeutic Index
6.8K
The therapeutic index of a drug is a key parameter in pharmacology that quantifies the relative safety of a drug by calculating the ratio between the dose that causes toxicity in half the population (50%) to the dose that proves to be effective for half the population (50%). It provides a spectrum of doses for a particular drug ranging from effective to potentially toxic. To illustrate, consider an anticoagulant agent like warfarin. It possesses a narrow window within its therapeutic index to...
6.8K
01:18Second Order systems II
408
In an underdamped second-order system, where the damping ratio ζ is between 0 and 1, a unit-step input results in a transfer function that, when transformed using the inverse Laplace method, reveals the output response. The output exhibits a damped sinusoidal oscillation, and the difference between the input and output is termed the error signal. This error signal also demonstrates damped oscillatory behavior. Eventually, as the system reaches a steady state, the error diminishes to zero.
408