Untangling the Roots of Cancer

Recent evidence challenges long-held theories of how cells turn malignant--and suggests new ways to stop tumors before they spread

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

00

Aneuploidy Precedes and Segregates with Chemical Carcinogenesis. Peter Duesberg, Ruhong Li, David Rasnick, Charlotte Rausch, Andreas Willer, Alwin Kraemer, George Yerganian and Ruediger Hehlmann in Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics, Vol. 119, No. 2, pages 83-93; June 2000.

Chromosome Segregation and Cancer: Cutting through the Mystery. Prasad V. Jallepalli and Cristoph Lengauer in Nature Reviews Cancer, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 109-117; November 2001.

Rules for Making Human Tumor Cells. William C. Hahn and Robert A. Weinberg in New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 347, No. 20, pages 1593-1603; November 14, 2002.

Multiple Mutations and Cancer. Lawrence A. Loeb, Keith R. Loeb and Jon P. Anderson in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Vol. 100, No. 3, pages 776-781; February 4, 2003.

W. Wayt Gibbs is a contributing editor for Scientific American based in Seattle. He also works as a scientific editor at Intellectual Ventures.

More by W. Wayt Gibbs
Scientific American Magazine Vol 289 Issue 1This article was published with the title “Untangling the Roots of Cancer” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 289 No. 1 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican072003-6BMnQ2PyGvy0wPgkseeJii

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe