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Precis This book is a treatise about the origin of cancers. I would
like to convince readers that the basic tenets of the theory of a
stem-cell origin of cancers also constitute a unified theory of
cancer. Stem-cell origin of normal (and cancer) cells: Vitruvian
version Every truth passes through three stages before it is
recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second, it is
opposed, in the third, it is regarded as self-evident. - Arthur
Schopenhauer v vi Preface Every person has a unique story to tell.
My story is about cancer. Cancer touches the lives of countless
people. Often enough, it leaves indelible tracks. Many lives have
been lost; others are forever changed. For those who confront this
deadly scourge, there is a sense of urgency, if not of desperation.
For those who face im- nent death, life becomes even more precious
and carries a special meaning. As an oncologist, I am touched daily
by cancer. I feel its inception, evolution, and aft- math. It seems
as though we are fighting an incessant war against cancer at the
front line in the trenches. This is my story about cancer. Some
people are terrific storytellers. Others have incredible tales to
tell.
Precis This book is a treatise about the origin of cancers. I would
like to convince readers that the basic tenets of the theory of a
stem-cell origin of cancers also constitute a unified theory of
cancer. Stem-cell origin of normal (and cancer) cells: Vitruvian
version Every truth passes through three stages before it is
recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second, it is
opposed, in the third, it is regarded as self-evident. - Arthur
Schopenhauer v vi Preface Every person has a unique story to tell.
My story is about cancer. Cancer touches the lives of countless
people. Often enough, it leaves indelible tracks. Many lives have
been lost; others are forever changed. For those who confront this
deadly scourge, there is a sense of urgency, if not of desperation.
For those who face im- nent death, life becomes even more precious
and carries a special meaning. As an oncologist, I am touched daily
by cancer. I feel its inception, evolution, and aft- math. It seems
as though we are fighting an incessant war against cancer at the
front line in the trenches. This is my story about cancer. Some
people are terrific storytellers. Others have incredible tales to
tell.
The questions we ask in this book about cancer are actually quite
elementary. What is the origin of cancer? Does cancer arise in any
cell in the body, or only in certain cells? Is cancer a genetic or
a stem-cell disease? We illustrate that cancer is a multicellular
rather than a unicellular process, a cellular rather than a genetic
problem, and a stem-cell rather than a somatic-cell disease. We
reveal that the incredible resemblance between a cancer cell and a
stem cell suggests that they are intimately related. The uncanny
ingenuity of a cancer cell is also innate in a stem cell. The
recognition that cancer has a stem-cell origin indicates that a
stem-cell theory of cancer may be the unified theory that we need
to make sense of the torrents of new data and new insights into
different facets of cancer, to see how they fit together into one
picture, and to disarm the disease. A stem-cell theory of cancer
can potentially accept, embrace, and integrate all of its genetic,
epigenetic, proteomic, and metabolic aspects. Such a unified theory
can account for all cancer hallmarks, including metastasis,
heterogeneity, dormancy, and immune evasion. It predicts that
multimodal therapy may be more beneficial than targeted therapy,
and integrated medicine more effective than precision medicine for
the management of all but the simplest tumors. It predicts that
when we have the correct cancer theory, clinical progress will
advance by monumental leaps rather than incremental steps. Indeed,
I predict that successful clinical outcomes will ultimately provide
irrefutable validation that cancer is a stem-cell disease.
Therefore, the thesis of this book is actually quite simple. When
we have a pertinent and correct theory of the origin of cancer, all
ideas, observations, experiments, and treatments will begin to fall
into place and make perfect sense. We would like to convince
readers that a stem-cell theory is the elusive, long-sought unified
theory, the theory of all theories, of cancer.
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