We all know cancer is a disease of excessive growth that may lead to formation of tumours. It can spread from one area to another in the human body. Because of this, cancer has become a dangerous disease in people’s minds.
Evolutionary model
Let us look into cancer through the theory of evolution, we know that organisms are developed in this nature by single cellular and multicellular ones. Cells in the single cellular organisms have the property of continuous growth, immortal, able to move and spread and participate in glycolysis (warburg effect).
Whereas the cells in multicellular organisms grow in controlled manner, undergo apoptosis i.e., programmed cell death, cells are stationary and participate in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway.
Disguise of unicellular features
In comparison, the traits of unicellular organisms and cancer cells are alike and the traits of unicellular cells are always present within our genome through the evolution process. These traits are in a hidden state and are expressed when the new evolved genes are changed by the environmental and lifestyle factors.
This is clearly explained by the theory of ‘atavism’, which means sudden reappearance of ancestral characters in the present generation that has been lost during evolution.
For instance, we may come across some people who have the appearance of a tail, excess body hair and enlarged teeth. These are due to genetic throwbacks or reversions or atavisms.
This explains that the primitive characters have not disappeared from the genome and have been switched off during development. When these off switches are changed then the traits reappear in the present generation.
Atavistic model
Based on this atavistic model, even though humans are a model of multicellular organisms, they have the traits of unicellular ones and can express their characters in human cells resulting in formation of cancerous tissue.
This happens in cancer disease, as the unicellular traits are expressed when the multicellular cell genes are changed by lifestyle and environmental factors. So we can conclude cancer cells behave like the ancestral character of unicellular cells that support the progression of disease.
In conclusion cancer is not a disease of gene mutation, infection, immune response, vascular disease and toxin disease. Cancer is developed within our own cells and is caused due to our own mistakes in environmental (diet, lifestyle, and exposure) factors.
