Jana Šmardová
Multicellular organism is formed by society of various cells developing and acting in correct place and time for maximal benefit of the whole system they belong to. Tumors develop from cells violating the basic rules of coexistence and collaboration. Eleven hallmarks distinguishing tumors from healthy tissues confirm importance of adherence to such rules. Do these hallmarks and rules reflect general principles of correct functioning of complex living systems? Can they serve as inspiration for human society?
From the review by Joseph Lipsick, M.D., Ph.D. (Stanford University).
“This is a very well-written thought-provoking book on an interesting and timely topic. During the past forty years, remarkable scientific progress has been made to arrive at our current understanding of cancer at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal levels. The author does an excellent job of explaining where the field currently stands using easily accessible language and very clear illustrations. In brief, multi-cellular organisms depend on the cooperative behavior and carefully orchestrated division of labor among very large numbers of constituent cells (>10E13 in the human body). Cancer arises when an individual cell no longer honors this social contract and instead behaves solely as a self-interested entity. This requires breaking the “rules” that govern cooperative behavior and evading systems that have evolved to prevent this. However, this book goes far beyond a description of what we know about cancer by asking the very interesting question, “What can tumors teach us?” The author alternates chapters discussing the principles of cancer biology with chapters in which these principles are applied by analogy to other fields including sociology, psychology, and political science. These discussions of “overlaps” are wide-ranging and draw interesting and at times compelling analogies between the origins and behaviors (phenotypes) of cancer cells and some of the most pressing current problems confronting people in post-industrial societies. I am reminded of the many unexpected applications of the theory of evolution, originally derived from studies of biological speciation, in a variety of fields including economics, political science, sociology, and artificial intelligence“.
To be published in autumn 2023.