Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5-6
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-12-23
pubmed:abstractText
Conventional genetic theories have failed to explain why cancer (1) is not heritable and thus extremely rare in newborns, (2) is caused by non-mutagenic carcinogens, (3) develops only years to decades after initiation by carcinogens, (4) follows pre-neoplastic aneuploidy, (5) is aneuploid, (6) is chromosomally and phenotypically "unstable", (7) carries specific aneusomies, (8) generates much more complex phenotypes than conventional mutation such as multidrug resistance, (9) generates nonselective phenotypes such as metastasis (no benefit at native site) and "immortality" (not necessary for tumorigenesis), and (10) does not contain carcinogenic mutations. We propose, instead, that cancer is a chromosomal disease. Accordingly carcinogenesis is initiated by random aneuploidies, which are induced by carcinogens or spontaneously. Since aneuploidy unbalances 1000s of genes, it corrupts teams of proteins that segregate, synthesize and repair chromosomes. Aneuploidy is therefore a steady source of chromosomal variations from which, in classical Darwinian terms, selection encourages the evolution and malignant progression of cancer cells. The rates of specific chromosomal variations can exceed conventional mutations by 4-11 orders of magnitude, depending on the degrees of aneuploidy. Based on their chromosomal constitution cancer cells are new cell "species" with specific aneusomies, but unstable karyotypes. The cancer-specific aneusomies generate complex, malignant phenotypes through the abnormal dosages of 1000s of genes, just as trisomy 21 generates Down syndrome. In sum, cancer is caused by chromosomal disorganization, which increases karyotypic entropy. Thus, cancer is a chromosomal rather than a genetic disease. The chromosomal theory explains (1) non-heritable cancer because aneuploidy is not heritable, (2) non-mutagenic carcinogens as aneuploidogens, (3) long neoplastic latencies by the low probability of evolving new species, (4) nonselective phenotypes via genes hitchhiking with selective chromosomes, and (5) immortality because, through their cellular heterogeneity, cancers survive negative mutations and cytotoxic drugs via resistant subspecies.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1570-5870
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
27
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
293-318
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-7-10
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Adolescent, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Age Factors, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Aged, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Aged, 80 and over, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Aneuploidy, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Cell Line, Tumor, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Cell Transformation, Neoplastic, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Child, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Child, Preschool, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Chromosome Aberrations, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Chromosomes, Human, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Genetic Predisposition to Disease, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Infant, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Infant, Newborn, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Karyotyping, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Mutation, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Neoplasms, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Phenotype, pubmed-meshheading:16373963-Precancerous Conditions
pubmed:year
2005
pubmed:articleTitle
The chromosomal basis of cancer.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Donner Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. duesberg@berkeley.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't