Random defects during DNA copying are the main source of cancer

2017/03/23 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Genetika
• Osasuna

So far it has been considered that cancer had two main factors: the inheritance that each could contribute and the environment. However, analyzing epidemiological data from 32 types of cancer and genome sequence, mutations that appear in nearly two-thirds of cancers are random errors in DNA replication in healthy cells. Depending on the type of cancer, one of the three factors stands out, as can be seen in the figure.

This new vision of cancer will require a change in the cancer strategy. So far there has been great force in prevention, but in the case of cancers resulting from random changes the only option can be early detection, early detection and operative withdrawal in the necessary cases. This does not mean avoiding prevention; in cancers where random changes are only a small percentage of mutations, prevention will remain the most effective strategy. In them, the care of the environment and the habits of life will be fundamental. In each case one or another strategy must be prioritized.

The research has been published by the journal Science.