Cancer: A Formidable Force to Medical Science

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Health, Medicine, Biological Evolution, History of Science

Ed Hessler

The BBC's Health & Science Reporter, James Gallagher writes about a new study on how cancer's grow which has shown  "an almost 'infinite ability' of tumors to grow and survive."

The research team notes that they are up against a "formidable force" and "concluded we need more focus on prevention...early detection and early detection of relapse... with a 'universal' cure unlikely any time soon."

Gallagher reports that "the research showed:

-- Highly aggressive cells in the initial tumor are the ones that ultimately end up spreading around the body

-- Tumors showing higher levels of genetic 'chaos' were more likely to relapse after surgery to to other parts of the body

-- Analyzing blood for fragments of tumor DNA meant signs of it returning could be spotted up to 200 days before appearing on a CT scan

-- The cellular machinery that reads the instructions in our DNA can become corrupted in cancerous cells making them more aggressive." 

Risk of some cancers is associated with obesity, smoking, alcohol, poor diet and inflammation in the body e.g., from air pollution.

Gallagher's reporting is based on seven separate studies all of which may be read  as a PDF (34 pp). They are not written for a lay audience but the abstracts may be of some interest as well as the conclusions for each study. The studies are linked in Gallagher's reporting.