As a hematologist, I am fascinated with our blood system and how certain blood cells develop cancer through mutations in their genetic code. On the other hand, I have often seen how these mutations drive the deadly nature of cancer. In my early years as a physician, I took care of a 30-year-old woman who was married with two twin girls and full of optimism. She developed acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer with only a 50% chance of cure. She did well initially and achieved remission following a bone marrow transplant from her sister. When we sequenced her genes upon initial diagnosis, we saw that the genetic makeup of her leukemia was simple: there were only a few gene mutations.
Beyond the Somatic Mutation Theory of Cancer
“The problem lies not so much in developing new ideas, but in escaping from old ones” John Maynard Keynes By 2009, it was clear…