The American Journal of Cancer · 1936 · 192 citations · 0 references
MedicineBiologyOncologyCarcinogenesisCell DivisionNeoplasiaCancer EtiologyCancer ProgressionHormone-related CarcinogenesisMalignant NeoplasmsMalignant TumorsTumor MorphologyCytological ExaminationCytological FeaturesHormonal CytologyHormonal DysregulationMalignant Breast TumorsMalignant ProgressionNeoplastic ProgressionTumor Cell Proliferation
Cancer’s origin remains unclear, with debate over whether it arises from external agents or internal cellular dysfunction, ultimately framing it as a cytological mutation that disrupts normal cell division. The study seeks to identify the mechanism by which an agent, exogenous or endogenous, induces the cytological changes leading to malignant cell division. No unique cellular marker has been found; cancer is defined by uncontrolled proliferation, and current therapies can only cure it by complete removal of neoplastic cells.
When speaking of the mystery which surrounds the origin of cancer, the discussion obviously cannot be limited to a simple etiological point of view. It must be known whether or not the production of a malignant tumor is due to the intervention of an element of external origin, or, on the contrary, to a cellular dysfunction of internal origin. Whether cancer represents primarily a parasitic or a cellular disease, the basic problem consists in finding the mechanism whereby an agent, either of exogenous or endogenous origin, provokes this definite cytological change in cellular division which characterizes malignant growth. One comes always, in the final analysis, to a cytological problem. In spite of innumerable investigations, it has not yet been possible to establish the existence of a strictly specific characteristic of a cancerous cell, either by way of morphology, immunology, chemistry or physiology, other than a loss of subordination to the rhythm of division. This essential characteristic, in itself, permits the cancer process to be defined as the illimitable power of multiplication in the organism, which is acquired by one cell and transmitted to its descendants. In this sense it would be a type of mutation, in the nature of an irreversible cytological change. In fact, at the present time it is not possible, by any form of therapy, to reestablish cellular order, and the cure of cancer can be obtained only by the total extirpation of all the neoplastic elements or by their destruction in situ.