10. Hypotheses of Carcinogenesis—The AtavisticTheory

Abstract

A deep comprehension of what cancer is as a biological phenomenon is lacking. Several theories have been proposed and many of them do not necessarily contradict each other. One of the theories is the intriguing hypothesis that a cancer cell may be triggered by mutations, but is basically a self-activated throwback to an ancestral cell phenotype running its ancient core functionality by preserving its vital functions, such as survival and uncontrolled proliferation.