Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

Rethinking Cancer

A New Paradigm for the Postgenomics Era

Part of Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology

Edited by Bernhard Strauss, Marta Bertolaso, Ingemar Ernberg, Mina J. Bissell
Look inside
Paperback
$60.00 US
The MIT Press
On sale Sep 09, 2025 | 432 Pages | 9780262054348
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
Leading scientists argue for a new paradigm for cancer research, proposing a complex systems view of cancer supported by empirical evidence.

Current consensus in cancer research explains cancer as a disease caused by specific mutations in certain genes. Thanks to dramatic advances in genome sequencing, never before have we known so much about the individual cancer cell—and yet it is still unclear how to use this knowledge for treatment success. In this volume, leading researchers argue for a new theory framework for understanding and treating cancer. The contributors propose a complex systems view of cancer, presenting conceptual building blocks for a new research paradigm supported by empirical evidence.

The contributors first discuss the new research framework in terms of theoretical foundations and then take up the relevance of a systems approach, reviewing such topics as nonlinearity, recurrence after treatment, the cellular attractor concept, network theory, and noncoding DNA—the “dark matter” of our genome. They address the temporality of cancer progression, drawing on evolutionary theory and clinical experience. Finally, they cover the dominant role of the tissue microenvironment in cancer, analyzing topics including altered metabolic pathways, the disease-defining influence on metastasis, and the interconnectedness of different environmental niches across levels of organization.
Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
1 Introduction and Overview 1
I REDEFINING THE PROBLEM: THE THEORY DIMENSION OF CANCER 11
2 The Search for Progress and a New Theory Framework in Cancer Research 13
3 Cancer as a System: Hard Lessons from Physics and a Way Forward 41
II THE SYSTEMS DIMENSION OF CANCER 61
4 The Logic of Cancer Treatment: Why It Is So Hard to Cure Cancer; Treatment-Induced Progression, Hyper-Progression, and the Nietzsche Effect 63
5 The Cell Attractor Concept as a Tool to Advance Our Understanding of Cancer 129
6 Adaptation of Molecular Interaction Networks in Cancer Cells 141
7 The Role of Genomic Dark Matter in Cancer: Using AI to Shine a Light on It; Why Cancer Genes Are Not the Whole Story 163
III THE TIME DIMENSION OF CANCER 185
8 Darwinism, Not Mutationalism, for New Cancer Therapies 187
9 Cancer as a Reversion to an Ancestral Phenotype 205
10 Time and Timing in Oncology: What Therapy Scheduling Can Teach Us about Cancer Biology 227
IV THE MICRO-/ENVIRONMENT DIMENSION OF CANCER 245
11 Tissue Tension Modulates Metabolism and Chromatin Organization to Promote Malignancy 247
12 Cancer Metabolism and Therapeutic Perspectives: Exploiting Acidic, Nutritional, and Oxidative Stresses 271
13 Corrupted Vascular Tumor Niches Confer Aggressiveness and Chemoresistance to Neoplastic Cells 299
14 Metastasis as a Tug of War between Cell Autonomy and Microenvironmental Control: Readdressing Unresolved Questions in Cancer Metastasis 323
15 Niche Reconstruction to Revert or Transcend the Cancer State 353
V WHAT NEXT? 391
Contributors 397
Index 399

About

Leading scientists argue for a new paradigm for cancer research, proposing a complex systems view of cancer supported by empirical evidence.

Current consensus in cancer research explains cancer as a disease caused by specific mutations in certain genes. Thanks to dramatic advances in genome sequencing, never before have we known so much about the individual cancer cell—and yet it is still unclear how to use this knowledge for treatment success. In this volume, leading researchers argue for a new theory framework for understanding and treating cancer. The contributors propose a complex systems view of cancer, presenting conceptual building blocks for a new research paradigm supported by empirical evidence.

The contributors first discuss the new research framework in terms of theoretical foundations and then take up the relevance of a systems approach, reviewing such topics as nonlinearity, recurrence after treatment, the cellular attractor concept, network theory, and noncoding DNA—the “dark matter” of our genome. They address the temporality of cancer progression, drawing on evolutionary theory and clinical experience. Finally, they cover the dominant role of the tissue microenvironment in cancer, analyzing topics including altered metabolic pathways, the disease-defining influence on metastasis, and the interconnectedness of different environmental niches across levels of organization.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword ix
Preface xi
1 Introduction and Overview 1
I REDEFINING THE PROBLEM: THE THEORY DIMENSION OF CANCER 11
2 The Search for Progress and a New Theory Framework in Cancer Research 13
3 Cancer as a System: Hard Lessons from Physics and a Way Forward 41
II THE SYSTEMS DIMENSION OF CANCER 61
4 The Logic of Cancer Treatment: Why It Is So Hard to Cure Cancer; Treatment-Induced Progression, Hyper-Progression, and the Nietzsche Effect 63
5 The Cell Attractor Concept as a Tool to Advance Our Understanding of Cancer 129
6 Adaptation of Molecular Interaction Networks in Cancer Cells 141
7 The Role of Genomic Dark Matter in Cancer: Using AI to Shine a Light on It; Why Cancer Genes Are Not the Whole Story 163
III THE TIME DIMENSION OF CANCER 185
8 Darwinism, Not Mutationalism, for New Cancer Therapies 187
9 Cancer as a Reversion to an Ancestral Phenotype 205
10 Time and Timing in Oncology: What Therapy Scheduling Can Teach Us about Cancer Biology 227
IV THE MICRO-/ENVIRONMENT DIMENSION OF CANCER 245
11 Tissue Tension Modulates Metabolism and Chromatin Organization to Promote Malignancy 247
12 Cancer Metabolism and Therapeutic Perspectives: Exploiting Acidic, Nutritional, and Oxidative Stresses 271
13 Corrupted Vascular Tumor Niches Confer Aggressiveness and Chemoresistance to Neoplastic Cells 299
14 Metastasis as a Tug of War between Cell Autonomy and Microenvironmental Control: Readdressing Unresolved Questions in Cancer Metastasis 323
15 Niche Reconstruction to Revert or Transcend the Cancer State 353
V WHAT NEXT? 391
Contributors 397
Index 399

Additional formats

  • Rethinking Cancer
    Rethinking Cancer
    A New Paradigm for the Postgenomics Era
    9780262362085
    Ebook
    The MIT Press
    Apr 27, 2021
  • Rethinking Cancer
    Rethinking Cancer
    A New Paradigm for the Postgenomics Era
    9780262362085
    Ebook
    The MIT Press
    Apr 27, 2021

Other books in this series

Related Articles

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month
Psychology

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

Psychology
Literature

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

Literature
Gender and Sexuality Studies History

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

Gender and Sexuality Studies History
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)