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The Hallmarks of Cancer

What makes cancer….cancer?

Dr. Jason Fung
8 min readFeb 8, 2018

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To understand cancer as a whole, rather than as individual cancers, it is useful to find out those traits that are common to all cancers. One of the most widely cited papers in oncology is ‘Hallmarks of Cancer’ which initially listed 6 hallmarks and then updated in 2011 with two more. This is a crucial step to defining cancer’s common features — these 8 hallmarks. Despite cancer’s many hundreds of different mutations, all cancers share these commonalties so, these must be critical features for survival that are being naturally selected as noted in ‘Cancer’s Convergent Evolution’. So, how are all cancers are similar?

First, we know that cancer cells are derived from originally normal cells. Breast cancer is derived from normal breast tissue and retains some its features, like estrogen receptors. Prostate cancer cells are derived from normal prostate cells and retain some of those features like sensitivity to hormones like testosterone. That is why castration (medical or surgical) is used in the treatment of prostate cancer and anti-estrogens like Tamoxifen are effective. But something happens along the way to these originally normal cells that turn them cancerous and…

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Dr. Jason Fung
Dr. Jason Fung

Written by Dr. Jason Fung

Nephrologist. New York Times best selling author. Interest in type 2 diabetes reversal and intermittent fasting. Founder www.TheFastingMethod.com.

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