THE CANCER CHRONICLES
by George Johnson
Knopf, 2013
INDEX
acoustic neuromas, 185
ACT UP (Aids Coalition to Unleash Power), 169
adenocarcinomas, 35, 53, 112
adipose, 143
adolescents, cancer in, 49, 172–3
“Adriamycin and Posole for Christmas Eve,” 115
Adriamycin (doxorubicin), 111, 115, 117
aflatoxin, 17, 28, 56
Africa, 41–3, 96
African Americans, 96, 107, 113
agate, 7–8
Agriculture Department, U.S., 85
Agrobacterium tumefaciens, 16
Agus, David, 190
Alar, 95
alcohol consumption
alcoholism, 28, 107, 160
benefits of, 210
cancer risk from, 20, 28, 94, 98, 100, 104, 145, 146, 147, 198
Allosaurus, 5, 9, 12, 17
alpha particles, 154–6, 159, 162, 202
Alpharadin, 163
Altman, Lawrence, 118
Alzheimer’s disease, 131, 133
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), annual meeting of, 126–38
American Cancer Society, 165
American Institute for Cancer Research, 144
American Museum of Natural History, 11
Ames, Bruce, 25, 74–5, 100–3
Ames test, 75, 100
anal cancer, 48
anemia, 49
aneurysmal bone cysts, 8
angiogenesis, 65, 81, 82, 125, 127–8, 148, 180
angiostatin, 127
aniline, 74
animals, animal kingdom
cancers of, 15–17, 180
research conducted on, 12, 62, 74, 87, 101, 127–8, 141, 143, 172–3, 184, 197
size and cancer incidence in, 18–19
anoikis, 63
antifolates, 23
anti-inflammatories, 149
anti-oncogenes, 78
antioxidants, dubious benefits of, 23
Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus), 6–7, 12, 20, 21
apc gene, 79
apoptosis, 80, 84, 110, 115, 122, 132–3, 159, 179, 191
aromatic amines, 104
asbestos, 27, 104, 113
Ashkenazi Jews, 32
Ashworth, Thomas Ramsden, 58–9, 61, 66
aspirin, 149
atavisms, 186–7
Austin, Robert, 187, 190–2
autoimmune response, 129
autophagy, 132
auxins, 194
Avastin, 128
Avery, Oswald, 71
Axelrod, Robert, 179
bacteria, 16, 25, 65, 133–4, 143, 187, 190
mitochondria as, 191
penicillin and, 139
salmonella, 74–5
baldness, 86, 111–19, 166, 176
barium enemas, 36–7
Barosaurus, 5, 12
basal cell carcinoma, 86, 173, 174, 198
Baselga, José, 174–5
beauty marks, 52
Becquerel, Henri, 72
benzene, 27, 74, 93
beta rays, 159, 162–3
Beth Israel Deaconess, 169
biopsy, 34–5, 91, 177, 201
birds, 18–19
Birmingham, England, 100
birth defects, 94–5
Bishop, J. Michael, 131
bisphenol A, 27
Blackburn, Elizabeth, 130
bladder cancer, 52, 62, 78, 104
Blakeslee, Sandra, 118
blastema, 60
blastocyst, 82
blastomas, 19
“blockbuster drugs,” 128–9
blood, 83
as metastatic pathway, 58–64, 65, 81
blood sugar, see glucose
bone cancer, 13–14, 42–4, 50, 51, 163
in dinosaurs, 6–14
bone marrow, 13, 50, 111, 116, 163
bones, 83, 173
Boveri, Theodor, 71–2
brachytherapy, 162
BRAF gene, 170, 174
brain
development of, 87, 172
metastasis to, 62, 64
brain cancer, brain tumors, 19, 31, 79, 86, 98, 106, 107, 172
in dinosaurs, 14
microwaves and, 182–5
breast cancer, 51, 55, 56, 79, 96, 105, 117–18, 128, 132, 175, 180
as common, 22–3, 48, 54, 175
decline in, 103, 106
in history, 47–8, 54
in men, 52
metastatic route of, 61–3
in nuns, 141–2
public support and hype in, 175–7
risk factors for, 25–8, 146, 147, 148
suspected epidemic of, 31–2
Bridges, Calvin B., 72
Brody, Jane, 118, 144–5
Brothwell, Don, 43–4
Bunge, Raymond G., 7–11
Burkitt’s lymphoma, 43, 78, 96
CA-125, 37, 193
cachexia, 167
Canada, 10, 158
cancer
ambiguities in, 27, 30, 31, 63–4, 176
anthropological perspective on, 41–57
in children, 43, 49, 52, 56, 78, 106, 107, 160, 168, 172–4, 186
classification scheme for, 98
complex and convoluted nature of, 151–2, 168–9
as contagious, 180–1
debate over screening for, 176–7
detection methods for, 33, 53–5, 176–7
as disease of genetic information, 70–81, 133–4
earliest evidence in genus Homo, 41–6
evolving historical insights on, 58–62, 140–1, 167
fear of, 160, 167
hallmarks of, 121–3, 137
historical vs. current rate of, 53–7, 97–8, 149–50
identifying characteristics of, 8–9
incidence rates of, 103–8, 129–30, 184, 193
as incurable, 61, 171, 172
long term development of, 25, 145
mechanics of, 121–3
metastatic, see metastasis
mortality rates from, 106, 129
oldest known case of, 6, 9–10
paradoxes of, 56–7, 81
perceived as contagious, 60, 76
as phenomenon, 151
physiological safeguards against, 9, 19, 63, 80
politics and, 32
predictions of epidemic of, 97, 100–3
in primordial creation, 90
as a process, 189
questions and hypotheses about, 132–8
randomness of, 33, 38–40, 83, 108, 113, 165, 198, 202–4
rare types of, 12–13, 112, 113, 131, 141, 172, 176
recurrence of, 25, 94, 127, 140, 172, 173, 199
reducing the odds in, 114, 186, 203
risk factors for, see cancer risk factors
search for prehistoric origins of, 5–21
selectiveness in incidence of, 12–13, 17
sources of, 92–108
survival rates for, 65–6, 172, 174–5, 180, 198
terminology of, 46–7, 84–6, 88, 134, 165–6, 174
testing for, 35–8
trivializing of, 167–8, 176
worldwide incidence of, 104–5, 158
see also Johnson, Joe; Maret, Nancy (author’s wife), cancer of; specific types of cancer
cancer clusters, 31–2, 104
Cancer Genome Atlas, 190
“cancering,” 189
“cancer juice,” 60–1
cancer microenvironment, 123
cancer prevention
dubious and contradictory information on, 22–6
lifestyle in, 98–100, 144
cancer research, 12, 23, 97–100
ambiguities in, 15–1587
evolution of, 70–81, 121–52, 167–81, 198
monetary aspects of, 130–1, 175, 176, 177
Nancy’s personal, 117–18
neglected types in, 175–6
new perspectives on, 186–92
pharmaceutical companies in, 127–32, 171–5
public support and hype in, 167–9, 175–7
on radiation, 157–9
statistical, 177–9, 188
two factions in, 144
see also specific studies
cancer risk factors, 92–108, 203
ambiguity about, 94–9, 149
demographic, 94, 107
endemic, 11, 12
environmental, 11, 12, 29–33, 49, 92–7
genetic, 26, 32, 49, 99, 108
of lifestyle, 13, 22–33, 98–100, 104–7
metabolic, 147–51
multiple and interconnected, 151–2, 168–9
overestimation of, 160–1
radiation as, 49, 56, 74, 98, 99, 153–66
research into, 97–100, 139–52
socioeconomic, 32–3
synergistic interactions in, 102–3
trauma and injury as, 43
see also carcinogens, carcinogenesis; specific risk factors
cancer stem cell theory, 125–6
cancer treatments
ethical issues in, 170–1
historical, 47–8, 140
Joe’s, see Johnson, Joe, treatment strategy for
limited effectiveness of, 128–9, 170–1
Nancy’s, see Maret, Nancy (author’s wife), cancer of, treatment strategy for
new perspectives on, 121–38, 186–92
predictions of cure in, 122–3, 127–8, 167–8, 189–91
shortcomings of, 36–7, 172–3
unnecessary, 33, 177
Cancer Ward (Solzhenitsyn), 169, 171, 199
canine transmissible venereal tumor, 180
carcinogens, carcinogenesis, 24, 27, 52, 77, 80, 139, 194, 199
artificially produced, 98–9, 101, 146
bans on, 100–1
carbon-based, 74
in chemotherapy, 109, 111
environmental, 92–7, 100–3, 144
inconclusive hypothesis on, 142–4
metabolic, 147–8
naturally occurring, 25–6, 74, 100, 153, 157
origin of term, 46
see also specific cancer risk factors
carcinomas, 17, 34, 46, 48, 52, 53, 60, 74, 198
as most common cancer, 83, 86
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 7, 11
Carson, Rachel, 95
castration, 140
cat scratch fever, 33–4
“Causes of Cancer, The” (Doll and Peto), 98–100, 104
celebrities, 168
celibacy, 141–2
Cell, 122
cell adhesion molecules, 80, 82
“cell fate,” 88
cell invasion, 82
cells
aerobic and anaerobic, 133
aggressive multiplication of, 10, 19, 38–40, 43, 49, 72, 75, 78–80, 102, 179
collaboration among, 179–80
differentiation of, 68, 83, 88, 123
duplication errors in, 12, 16, 28, 29, 38, 53, 71, 77, 100, 108, 110, 195
electricity and, 109–10
evolving historical insights on, 59–61
in mechanics of cancer, 121–3
in metastasis, 59–64
polarization in, 132
precancerous, 197, 200
programmed death of, see apoptosis
cellular phones, 182, 184–6
Cepheid variables, 190, 193
cerebellum, 172
cervical cancer, 77, 98, 104, 107, 142
cervix, 91
Chase, Martha, 71
Chemical Weapons Convention, 112
chemotherapy, 23, 78, 96, 109–20, 125, 129, 132, 169, 170–1, 174, 176, 193, 194
alternatives to, 187
Joe’s, 199–201
Nancy’s, 111–20, 165, 166
negative effects of, 66, 111–12, 115, 116, 118, 119, 163, 174, 200–1
process of, 115–16, 165
resistance to, 112, 118, 131, 179
Chernobyl nuclear plant, 160
chickens, 87
tumor research on, 75–6
childlessness
cancer risk from, 27, 32, 33, 98, 105, 113, 141–2
of Nancy, 91, 165
children
cancer in, 43, 49, 52, 56, 78, 106, 107, 160, 172–4, 186
deformities of, 86, 94
chimney sweeps, 74, 140–1, 197
chondroblastomas, 8
chondrosarcoma, 9
Christmas, 115
chromosomes, 71–2, 75, 78, 80, 94
cigarettes, see smoking
circadian disruption, 146
cisplatin, 109–11, 115, 117, 199
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 13
clinical equipose, 170–1
clones, 122
CM 72656 (dinosaur bone), 6–11
coal tar, 74, 141, 147, 197
coffee, carcinogens in, 101
cohorts, 24–5
Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health (COSMOS), 186
colon cancer, 25, 62, 77, 96, 106, 132, 143, 146, 147, 180
colonoscopy, 36–8
Colorado, 5–6, 10, 15
colorectal cancer, 30, 53, 54, 107
as common, 22
risk factors for, 26
colorectal polyps, 25
conifers, 12
“Contagious Cancer,” 180
contraceptives, 27
cortisol, 149
cosmology, 190
creation theory, 89–90, 122, 136–7
Cretaceous period, 11, 15
Crick, Francis, 71, 135
Crookes, William, 202
crown gall, 16
CT scans, 36, 53, 55, 164, 197
Curie, Marie, 72–4, 161–2
Curie, Pierre, 72–4, 161–2
curies, 154
Curran, Tom, 172–3
cycads, 12
cyclopamine, 86–7, 173
Cyclopes, 85–6
cytokines, 129
dacarbazine, 170–1
Dana-Farber cancer center, 12, 169, 177
Darwinian evolution, 16, 65, 101, 126
cancer development and, 64, 99, 177–9, 187–8
David, A. Rosalie, 55–6
Davies, Paul, 188–9, 191
DDT, 32
Death Be Not Proud (Gunther), 3
demographics, and cancer risk, 94, 107
De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of Workers) (Ramazzini), 141
Descartes, René, 59
desmoplastic fibroma, 11
developmental biology, 84–8, 127
Devonian period, 15
diabetes, 28, 133, 148, 149
diet
in cancer prevention, 98
cancer risk from, 12, 13, 32–3, 101, 104, 105, 107, 143–7
dubious and inconclusive theories of, 20, 22–6, 101, 139–40, 142, 144–7, 150, 161, 185
moderation in, 26
in radiation therapy, 164
differentiation, 68, 83, 88, 123
Dinosaur, Colo., 5–6
Dinosaur Hill, 6
Dinosaur Journey Museum, 17
Dinosaur National Monument, 6, 10
dinosaurs
cancer observed in, 5–21, 53
decline and extinction of, 11, 13, 15
Diseases in Antiquity (Brothwell), 43
dissection, 66
Dmrt5 molecule, 87
DNA, 71, 72, 95, 111, 180, 188, 204
duplication errors in, 12, 16, 28, 29, 38, 53, 186
in embryonic development, 123–4
in genetics, 134–6
mitochondrial, 191
radiation and, 13, 74, 155, 183–4
repair of, 19, 79, 110, 159, 178, 187
in viruses, 75
Doll, Richard, 97–100, 102, 108, 142, 146
double helix, 71, 79, 110, 134
doxorubicin (Adriamycin), 111, 115, 117
drugs
in cancer treatment, 127–32, 149, 191
money matters and, 130–1
naming of, 174
prediction of efficacy of, 189–90
testing of, 25
see also chemotherapy; pharmaceutical companies; specific medications
dwarfism, 28
Echthroi, 192, 195, 203
Edison, Thomas, 92
Edmontosaurus, 11–13, 25
Egypt, ancient, 50, 52–5
Ehrenreich, Barbara, 176
Eighth Day of Creation, The: Makers of the Revolution in Biology (Judson), 134
Eldredge, Niles, 179
electrical power lines, 32, 186
electricity, and mitosis, 109–10
electromagnetism, 109, 182, 184
electron microscopes, 44, 51
elephantiasis, 60
embryos
development of, 80, 82–6, 94–5
tumors compared to, 82–3, 123–6
Emperor of All Maladies, The (Mukherjee), 161
endometrial cancer, 27, 193
endometrial curettage, 65
endometrioid adenocarcinoma, 112
endometrium, 36–7, 91
endothelial cells, 81
entosis, 132
entropy
Echthroi as agents of, 192
inevitable triumph of, 195, 204
as source of cancer, 16, 108, 151, 186
environment
cancer sources in, 92–9, 101–3
misinterpretation of term, 96–7
environmental movement, 95
Environmental Protection Agency, 30, 93–5
in radon testing, 154–8, 160
epidemiology, 139, 142, 144, 157–9
of cancer, 92–108
shortcomings of self-reporting in, 24–5, 145
epigenetic theory, 124–5, 137, 159
epigenome, 124, 134
epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), 83
Epstein, Samuel, 95
Erbitux, 199
Erin Brockovich, 104
Erivedge (vismodegib), 174
Ernst, Max, 180
Escherichia coli, 110
esophageal cancer, 20, 28, 146
Esquire, 177
estrogen, 35–6, 148
as carcinogen, 27, 105, 141, 165
European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), 145–7, 151–2, 186
evolutionary biology, 177–9, 187
“Evolutionary Dynamics of Cancer” (Michor), 177
Ewing’s sarcoma, 8
exercise, in cancer prevention, 22, 104, 142, 147, 150–1
eyes, 49
cancer of, 78
cyclopean, 10, 85–6, 173
Fantastic Voyage, 63
Farley, Emma, 87
farolitos, 116–17
fat, in metabolism, 147–9
Federal Communications Commission, 183
Ferrante I of Aragon, 53
fes gene, 76
fetus, 82–3
fiber, dubious benefits of, 25–6
fibroblasts, 81
fibroids, 37
fibrous dysplasia, 8
Fidler, Isaiah, 62
field cancerization, 199–200
Field Museum, 8, 11
fish
cancer in, 14, 15, 17
consumption of, 26
5 A Day program, 24, 144
Fleming, Alexander, 129, 151
fluoride, 49
folates, folic acid, 22–3
Folkman, Judah, 127–8
Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, 144
follow-up report (Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, 145
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 87, 111, 128, 169, 170–1, 174
forest fires, 29
fossils
cancer observed in, 6–16, 41–6, 48, 50
fuel from, 14–15
fragile X, 131
free radicals, 23, 191
fringe genes, 85
fruit flies, genetic research with, 70–1, 84
Galen of Pergamon, 46–8, 59
Galis, Frietson, 19
game theory, 179
gamma rays, 27, 30, 38, 159, 162, 183
gardens, author’s, 66–8, 193–5
Genentech, 128–9, 171, 174–5
genes
cancer-causing, 76–80
growth-restraining, 78–80
see also specific genes
genetic damage, 19, 52, 53
genetic messaging, 133–6
genetic mutation, 70–81, 84–8
genetics
in cancer risk, 12, 26, 32, 49, 99, 108, 142, 151, 173, 187
in embryo development, 123–6
environmental factors vs., 96
population, 178
statistical research in, 177–9
terminology of, 136
genomes, 40, 75–7, 84, 124, 131–5, 153, 155, 180, 188–9, 191, 203
geography, and cancer risk, 29–31
Germany, 49, 55, 60
germ cells, 10
Gitau, Juma, 41
Gleevec, 129
gliomas, 185
glucose, 38, 133, 147–9, 150, 184, 191
glycogen, 147
Gorlin syndrome, 86
Gould, Stephen Jay, 113–14, 179
gout, 8–9
Grady, Denise, 118
“Great Cancer Wars,” 95
Green River, 6, 15
Grufferman, Seymour, 216
Gunther, John, 3
Gynecologic Oncology, 117
Haddow, Alexander, 47
Hadrosauridae, 11–14
“Hallmarks of Cancer, The” (Hanahan and Weinberg), 121–3
“Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation” (Hanahan and Weinberg), 137
Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection, 13
hamsters, 180
Hanahan, Douglas, 121–2, 137
Harmon, Amy, 170
Hart, Ian, 62
Harvard, 114, 127, 136, 142, 169, 177
Hayflick limit, 80
heart, 83
cancer of, 131
“cell fate” and, 88
chemotherapy damage to, 111
heart disease, 142, 149, 152
hedgehog genes, 84–7, 173–4
height, 28
Helicobacter pylori, 104, 133
hemangiomas, 9, 11
hepatitis, 28, 56, 77, 104, 107, 133
HER2/neu, gene, 117–18, 128, 174–5
“HER2/neu Overexpression: Has the Achilles’ Heel of Uterine Serous Papillary Carcinoma Been Exposed?,” 117
herbicides, 194
Herceptin (trastuzumab), 118, 128–9, 174–5
Hershey, Alfred, 71
Hillis, Daniel, 189–90
Hippocrates, 46–7, 59
Hippocratic oath, 47
Hippo genes, 88
Hiroshima, 160–1
Hispanics, 107
histidine, 74–5
“hitchhiker” mutations, 178
HIV/AIDS, 169
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 98, 106, 112
Holocene era, 51–2
holoprosencephaly, 86
Hooker Electrochemical Company, 93
hope, hopefulness
for cancer cure, 124, 128, 137
as coping mechanism, 35–6, 56, 115–16, 120, 165–6, 167–9, 197, 200–2
in Nancy’s cancer, 91, 114–16
hormesis, 159–60
hormone replacement therapies, 27, 107
hormones
as destructive, 9
endocrine system, 189
see also specific hormones
horses, Nancy’s love of, 193, 194
Human Microbiome Project, 134
human papillomavirus (HPV), 56, 77, 98, 104, 142, 198
hummingbirds, 18–19
humors, 59
Huntington’s disease, 131
hyperotosis, 15–16
hypertension, 148
hypertumors, 19
hysterectomy, 66, 91
“immortal devil,” 180
immune system, 50, 63, 80, 133, 149, 159, 179, 189
boosters, 129, 191
compromised, 99
lymph in, 65
immunoglobulins, 50
Imperial College School of Medicine, 139–41
impotence, 177
incontinence, 177
India, 105
industrial chemicals, as cancer source, 11, 30–1, 95–7, 99–100, 103, 105, 108, 142–3
Industrial Revolution, 140
inflammation, cancer risk from, 133, 149
insects, tumors in, 16
insulin, in cancer risk, 26, 147–8, 151
insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), 148
International Agency for Research on Cancer, 104, 186
Internet
in cancer research, 178
misinformation on, 56
wireless, 182–3
Interphone, 184–5
introns, 135
ionizing radiation, 13, 153, 184, 194
Iowa, radon levels in, 158–9
Iron Age, 49
Italy, 141–2, 144
Japan, 96, 105, 141
Java man, 42
jaw
Joe’s cancer of, 196–204
Kanam, 45
of primitive fish, 14
Jesse H. Jones Rotary House International, 119
Joe see Johnson, Joe
Johnson, Joe (author’s brother)
cancer of, 196–202
healthy lifestyle of, 198
treatment strategy for, 199–201
Joliot-Curie, Irène, 161
Journal of Cell Death, 133
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 117
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 146
Judson, Horace Freeland, 134
junk DNA, 135–6
Jurassic period, 5–6, 10–11, 15
Kanam mandible, 41–6
Kanam West fossil beds, 41
karkinos (crab), in cancer terminology, 46–7
keratoacanthoma, 171
kidney cancer, 20, 106, 146
Knudson, Alfred G. 229
kochia, 193–4
Krebs cycle, 191
Kruszynski, Robert, 44–5
lactation, 27, 148
Lancet, The, 9
Laramide orogeny, 15
Laron syndrome, 28
Laurasia, 5
lead, 49
Leakey, Louis, 41–3, 45
Leavitt, Henrietta, 90, 190, 193
le Dran, Henry François, 59–60
L’Engle, Madeleine, 192
leprosy, 60
leukemia, 8, 19, 106, 129, 131, 160, 186
in M. Curie’s death, 161–2
Levi, Primo, v
Levinson, Arthur D., 128
lifestyle, cancer risk from, 13, 22–33, 98–100, 104–7, 143–5, 153–6, 198
light, frequencies of, 29–30, 183
Lineweaver, Charles, 188
liquid chromatography, 189
liver, 83, 133
metastasis to, 52, 61
liver cancer, 28, 77, 96, 104–7
in trout, 17
London, 139, 142
longevity, proven cancer risk from, 14, 20, 26, 32, 48, 99, 100, 103, 105, 113, 130, 139, 151, 168, 186, 198
Long Island cancer cluster, 31–2, 104
Los Alamos, 29, 30–1, 104
Love, William T., 92–3
Love Canal, 92–5
low-fat diet, dubious benefits of, 25
lumps, discovery of, 33–5
lung cancer, 23, 28, 30, 52, 77–8, 79, 96, 98, 99, 105, 107, 114, 142, 143, 146, 153
incidence of, 106, 159
radiation and, 155–6, 158–60
lungs, metastasis to, 10, 43, 52, 60, 64, 198
lymphangiogenesis, 65, 81
lymphatic system, 33, 35, 43, 59–60, 112, 163, 198
as metastatic pathway, 64–6, 81, 91
lymphedema, 163, 165
lymphocytes, 65
lymphomas, 17, 131
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 120
macrophages, 133, 149
Madame Curie (movie), 73
Magellanic Clouds, 193
mammograms, 36
screening debate over, 176
March of Dimes, 168
Maret, Nancy (author’s wife), 66, 68, 155
in aftermath of cancer, 192–5, 196
childlessness of, 91
healthy life style of, 22, 25, 26–8, 66, 114
marriage ended by, 196
Nancy (author’s wife), cancer of
diagnosis of, 21, 22–40, 52, 112–14, 137, 144, 176, 198
follow-ups to, 193
metastatic route of, 35, 52, 64–6, 91
treatment strategy for, 66, 88–91, 111–20, 162–6, 192
Massachusetts General Hospital, 169, 174
mass spectrometry, 189
mastectomies, 33, 176
Maxwell’s demons, 196, 204
Mayo Clinic, 37
McLaughlin, Thomas, 170–1
MD Anderson Cancer Center, 12, 37, 137, 163, 169
Nancy’s trip to, 118–20, 137
mean, median vs., 113–14
“Median Isn’t the Message, The” (Gould), 113–14
medical practices
cancer risk from, 98
shortcomings of, 36–7, 89
triumphs of, 106
see also cancer treatments
medulloblastoma, 86, 172–4
melan cholo, 59
melanoblastoma, 171, 199
melanoma, 52, 77, 174
cousins in drug study on, 170–1
rise in, 106, 107
melatonin, 149
Memorial Sloan-Kettering cancer center, 29, 37, 94
menarche, early age of, 27, 105, 106, 148
Mendel, Gregor, 70–1, 177
Mendelsohn, John, 118
meningiomas, 185
menopause, 36, 48, 113
menstruation, 27, 36, 48, 105, 142
mesenchymal cells, 83
mesothelioma, 104, 113
Mesozoic age (Age of Dinosaurs), 9
metabolic carcinogenesis, 147–8
metabolic syndrome, 148–9
metabolism
in cancer risk, 12, 26, 147–51
glucose, 147–9, 184
pulse rate and life span in, 18–19
metastasis, 9, 10, 13, 40, 47, 58–69, 122, 128, 170, 193
contagious, 180–1
EMT in, 83
evolving historical insights on, 58–62
historical evidence of, 11, 50–1, 54
modern theory of, 61–4
in Nancy’s cancer, 35, 52, 64–6, 91
plant propagation compared to, 66–8
“metastatic affections,” 59
metazoans, 110
methylation, 124, 184
mice, research on, 62, 87, 101, 127–8, 172, 173
Michor, Franziska, 177–8, 187
microbiome, 134
microRNA, 135–6
microwave radiation, inconclusive threat from, 182–6
Middle Ages, 48, 50, 59
migrant studies, 96, 143
Million Women Study, 28
mining
contaminants from, 49
uranium, 72, 157–8
miscarriage, 86
mitochondria, 191–2, 204
mitogenesis, 102
mitosis, 76, 80, 102, 109, 117, 132, 184
electricity and, 109–10
Model City, 92
monoclonal antibodies, 174, 199
monoclonal theory, 122
Montagu, Ashley, 43
Morgan, Thomas Hunt, 72
Morrison Formation, 6, 10, 15
mouth cancer, 20, 147
MRI scans, 164, 196
Mrs. Trujillo (author’s neighbor), 33
Mukherjee, Siddhartha, 161
Muller, Hermann J., 70–1, 74
Müller, Johannes, 60
multiple myeloma, 8, 50
multivitamins, 24
mummies, 52–3
mustard gas, 27, 111–12
mustargen (nitrogen mustard), 112
mutagens, 12
mutations, 38–40, 49, 52, 53, 108, 121–2, 131–2, 156, 195, 199–200
genetic, 70–81, 94–5, 177–9
radiation in, 71–4
in sheep, 85–6, 173
as subject of developmental biology, 84–8
mutagenesis, 102
myb gene, 76
myc gene, 76, 78, 79
myeloblastosis, 76
myelocytomatosis, 76
myeloma, 8
“mysterious sympathy,” 141, 148
Nagasaki, 160–1
Nancy (see Maret, Nancy)
naphthalene, 74
nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 50
National Academy of Sciences, 103
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 167, 175
National Cancer Institute, 24, 32, 97, 103–4, 107, 128, 129, 185, 187, 189, 198
National Institutes of Health, 169
National Research Council, 158
National Toxicology Program, 27, 95, 109
Native Americans, 107
Natural History (Pliny), 61
Natural History Museum, London, 43, 48
Nature Reviews Cancer, 55
nausea, 111, 115, 200
necroptosis, 132–3
needle biopsy, 34–5
neoplasm, 9, 12, 18, 23, 27
benign, 15–16, 32
Neulasta, 116
neuroblastoma, 78
neurodegenerative diseases, 131
newts, low cancer incidence in, 17
New Yorker, 1334
New York Times, 118, 144, 160, 170
Niagara Falls, 92–3
nitrosamines, 143
Nixon, Richard, 97
N-nitroso compounds, 143
Nobel Prize, 130, 131, 161–2
nose, 50
“Novel Transcription Factor Involved in Neurogenesis,” 87
Nowell, Peter, 229, 244
nuclear accidents, 160
nuclear blasts, 160–1, 194, 202
nuclear fallout, 49
nuclear magnetic resonance, 152
nuclear power plants, 157, 160
nucleotides, four-symbol alphabet for, 71, 77, 123, 134
nuns, cancer in, 141–2
Nurses’ Health Study, 146
Oates, Joyce Carol, 93
obesity
and inflammation, 149
proven cancer risk from, 14, 26, 27, 32–3, 104, 107, 131, 133, 142, 143–4, 147–50, 168
occupational exposure, cancer risk from, 140–1, 159
Odyssey (Homer), 85–6
Office de Protection Contre le Rayonnements Ionisants, 161
omega-3 fatty acids, 26
“’omics,” 134
Omnis cellula e cellula dictum, 60
oncogenes, 76, 78–9, 85, 121, 124, 131, 136, 178
oncologists, 36, 37, 43, 65, 117, 119, 120, 163, 179, 186, 190
origin of term, 46
On the Nature and Structural Characteristics of Cancer, and of those Morbid Growths which May Be Confounded with It (Müller), 60
osteoblastic, 51
osteoblastoma, 11
osteolytic, 51–2
osteomas, 9
osteomyelitis, 43
osteosarcoma, 7–8, 14, 42–3, 49–50, 56
ovarian cancer, 27, 33, 37, 66, 78, 112, 127
ovaries, 10, 91
oxidative stress, 153
p53 gene, 79–80, 199
Pachylebius, 16
Pacific Islanders, 107
paclitaxel (Taxol), 111, 116, 117, 127
Paget, Stephen, 61–2, 69
paleo diet, 150
paleo-oncology, 46–57
Palaeo-Oncology (Retsas), 46
pancreas, 83, 147
pancreatic cancer, 30, 77, 96, 106, 107, 146, 175–6
papillary fronds, 113
Parkinson’s disease, 131
Pascal, Blaise, 22, 23, 30
“passenger” mutations, 178
Patagonia, 192
Paul of Aegina, 46
Peking man, 42
penicillin, 139, 151
Pennsylvanian period, 15
Perjeta (pertuzumab), 175
pertuzumab (Perjeta), 175
pesticides, 32, 96, 142
naturally occurring, 12, 25–6, 101
Peto, Richard, 18, 97–100, 102, 108, 143, 146
Peto’s paradox, 18–19
PET (positron emission tomography) scan, 38, 164, 193, 197
pharmaceutical companies
drugs named by, 174
promotion by, 127
research by, 127–31, 171–5
phenols, 74
phosphoresence, 72–3
phytochemicals, dubious benefits of, 23–4
picocuries, 154–8
pink ribbon campaign, 167, 175–6
pitchblende, 72–3, 162
placenta, 82
plants
metastasis compared to propagation of, 66–8
tumors in, 16
plasma, 8, 50
platinum, 109–10
Pleistocene era, 15, 42
Pliny, 61
Pokémon (game), 85
polarization, 132
polio, 168
politics, cancer and, 32, 97
Politics of Cancer, The (Epstein), 95
Pollock, Jackson, 120
pollution, as cancer source, 11, 96, 99
polonium, 73
polyps, 25, 112–13
pooled analysis, 159
population genetics, 178
Population Reference Bureau, 57
Pott, Percivall, 197
poverty, cancer and, 13, 104–5, 107, 168
praeter naturam (preternatural), 48
pregnancy, 164
and cancer risk, 27
physiology of, 82–3, 86, 148
Price, Reynolds, 3
primary cancers, 50, 52, 54
Proctor, Robert, 95
progesterone, 35
progression-free survival, 175
prospective epidemiological studies, 24–5, 145–6
prostate cancer, 10, 51, 56, 96, 105, 107, 143, 146
as common, 22, 54, 177
decline in, 103, 106
screening debate in, 176–7
prostate-specific antigen (PSA), 51, 177
proteases, 80, 149
proteome, 134, 189–90, 203
protons, 162
proto-oncogenes, 77, 78
pseudopathology, 53–4
PTEN gene, 79
punctuated equilibrium, 179
Quammen, David, 180–1
quantum mechanics, 202–3
quantum physics, 189
rabbits, carcinoma research on, 74, 141, 197
radiation
cancer risk from, 49, 56, 74, 98, 99, 153–66, 183
from microwaves, 182–5
mutations and, 71–4
from nuclear blasts, 160–1
possible benefits of, 159–60
radiation therapy, 66, 74, 78, 111, 115, 169, 193
alternatives to, 187
Joe’s, 199–201
Nancy’s, 162–6, 192
negative effects of, 163, 164, 172–3
process of, 164–5
radioactive iodine, 162–3
radioactivity, 153, 202
in dinosaur extinction, 13
in mutation, 72–4
radio frequency, 188
radioisotopes, 26, 49, 62, 99, 162–3
radium, 30, 73–4, 153, 161, 202
Radium Girls, 73–4, 202
radon
cancer risk from, 30, 153–9
testing for, 153–5
Ramazzini, Bernardino, 141, 148
ras gene, 76, 77–8, 79
rats, laboratory use of, 12
Rb gene, 78–9
receptor-interacting protein (RIP), 133
rectal cancer, 52
Red Dye No. 2, 95
red meat, inconclusive cancer risk from, 26, 53, 104, 143, 146–7
reelin gene, 172
regeneration, 17, 84
Relay for Life, 165–6, 192
Report on Carcinogens, 95
“Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer,” 104
retinoblastoma, 78–9
retrospective epidemiological studies, 24–5, 145, 185
retrovirus, 76
reverse smoking, 105
rhabdomyosarcoma, 52
Riboli, Elio, 139–40, 142–6, 148, 150–1, 153
Richard J–, 58–9
Riggs, Elmer, 6
Rigoni-Stern, Domenico, 142
RNA, 204
in genetics, 134–6
in viruses, 75
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, 75–6
Rockies, formation of, 15
Rome, ancient, 51, 72
Röntgen, Wilhelm, 71
Rosenberg, Robert, 109–10
Rothko, Mark, 120
Rothko Chapel, 120
Rothschild, Bruce, dinosaur fossils observed by, 8–14, 18
Rothschild, Christine, 13
Rous, Peyton, 75–6
Royal College of Surgeons, 42
Royal Society of Medicine, 47, 202
Run for Life, 165
Russia, 50
Ryan, Brandon, 170–1
saccharine, 95
Sacculina carcini, 47
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 172–3
St. Mary’s Hospital, London, 139
Salk, Jonas, 168
salmonella, research on, 74–5
salsify, 68
salt, 143, 161
Sandia Mountain, 182–3
San Diego Zoo, 13–14
Santa Fe, N.Mex., 29–30, 115, 154, 182–3
sarcomas, 17, 19, 42, 60, 76, 110
Saxon fossil, 45, 48–9
Science, 101
Science of Cancerous Disease from Earliest Times to the Present, The (Wolff), 61
scrotums, scrotal cancer, 74, 140
Scythians, 50
seed and soil theory, 52
Self-Consciousness (Updike), 196
sentinel nodes, 66
sex hormones, 27, 35–6, 105, 142, 148
sexual behavior, cancer risk from, 98, 104, 160
sharks, cancer in, 17
shh signaling pathway, 86
Silent Spring (Carson), 95
sirtuins, 133
size, cancer risk and, 18–19
skin cancers, 86, 107, 171
smoking
proven cancer risk from, 22, 23, 26, 28–9, 30, 52, 74, 94, 98, 99, 100, 103–7, 142, 143, 145, 146, 147
in radiation studies, 154, 156–9
reverse, 105
smoothened (protein), 173–4
Society for Developmental Biology, conference of, 84–8, 127
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, 169, 199
sonic hedgehog gene, 85–6, 173
soot warts, 74, 140–2
South America, 105
spine
dinosaur, 12
metastasis to, 10, 11
spinthariscope, 202–3
splenules, 37
squamous cell carcinoma, 171
of head and neck, 197–204
src gene, 76, 77
Stand Up to Cancer, 167–9, 179–80
staphylococcus, 139
Stathopoulos, George, 43
statistics
in cancer research, 177–9, 187
in cancer risk, 156, 158–9
in survival rate, 113–14
varying and conflicting interpretations of, 28–29, 56, 9––94, 97–100, 104, 106–8
Steel Forest, 182–3
Stegosaurus, 5, 17
stem cells, 83, 125–6, 137
stemness, 125
stomach cancer, 54, 90, 96, 104, 105, 133, 143, 161, 190, 193
stress
cancer risk from, 99, 149, 165, 187
oxidative, 153
stroke, 114
strontium-90, 49
Strouhal, Eugen, 50
sugar
cancer risk from, 26
consumption, 150
Sumpter, Ann, 50
sunlight
in circadian disruption, 149
proven cancer risk from, 26, 29–30, 56, 98, 107, 183
“super Herceptin” (trastuzumab emtansine; T-DM1), 174–5
surgeons, 89–91, 117, 163
surgery, 172, 177
gastric bypass, 149
Joe’s, 198, 202
laser, 78
Nancy’s, 66, 86–91, 111, 166
reconstructive, 176
Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), 97, 99, 103, 105, 107
survivors, use of term, 165–6
Susan (author’s friend), 33
taphonomic changes, 53–4
targeted therapies, 118, 128–32, 163, 170–5, 190–1
Tasmanian devils, 180
Taubes, Gary, 150
Taxol (paclitaxel), 111, 116, 117, 127
Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew tree), 111
Technology Assessment Office, U.S., 97
teeth, 41–2, 46
Telome Health, Inc., 130
telomerase, 80, 130
telomeres, 80, 130, 204
“Ten Crazy Ideas About Cancer,” 191
teratomas, 10
Tesla, Nikola, 92
tesseract, 192
testicular cancer, 111, 140
theoretical physics, 188–9
therioma, 48
Thiersch, Karl, 60–1
Thinking Machines, 189
Thomas, Lewis, 94
thyroid cancer, 77, 106, 160, 163
tissue bank, 173
topotecan, 117
Train, Russell, 95
transcriptome, 134
translational research, 169–72, 177–80
trastuzumab (Herceptin), 118, 128–9, 174–5
trastuzumab emtansine (“super Herceptin”; T-DM1), 174–5
triclopyr, 194
trout, cancer in, 17
tuberculosis, 9
tumbleweed (Salsola tragus; Russian thistle), 194–5
tumors
benign, 9, 11–12, 39
compared to organs, 81
composition of, 123
development of, 38–40, 65, 80–1, 121–3
of dinosaur bone, 6–14
embryonic development compared to, 82–3
evolving historical insights on, 59–61
inflammation and, 149
of jaw, 45, 196–204
malignant, 39
mobility of, 10
multiple, 58–9, 199–201
in plants, 16
seeding and proliferation of, 199–201
as unique, 112
virtual, 189
tumor suppressors, 79–80, 121, 124, 129, 136, 178, 199
Tyrannosaurus rex, 11, 14
United States Adopted Name Council, 174
University Hospital, 88
Updike, John, 196
uranium, 30, 72–3, 157–8
Utah, 10, 20–1
uterine cancer, 21, 47, 48, 65–6, 91, 98, 105, 107, 112
uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC), 112, 117, 118, 119, 120, 176
uterus, 36–7, 65, 82, 91, 141–2
Varmus, Harold, 129–31
vemurafenib (Zelboraf), 170–1, 174
Veratrum californicum lily, 85
vertebrae
dinosaur, 11–12
mammal, 19
vhl gene, 79
Virchow, Rudolf, 60, 149
viruses, cancer caused by, 75–7, 96, 104, 131, 133, 136, 142, 143
vismodegib (Erivedge), 173–4
vitamin D, 30
Vivian (author’s neighbor), 33, 37, 68
Vogelstein, Bert, 229, 244
Waldron, Tony, 54–5
Wallace, Charles (character), 192
Warburg effect, 133
War on Cancer, 97, 187
watches, glow-in-the-dark dials for, 73–4
Watras, Stanley, 157
Watson, James, 71, 127–8, 143
weeds, as metaphor for cancer, 68–9, 193–5
Weinberg, Robert, 121–2, 137, 186
Westinghouse, George, 92
whales, low incidence of cancer in, 18–19
Whitehead Institute, 169
Whole Life, A (Price), 3
“Why Don’t All Whales Have Cancer?,” 18–19
Willett, Walter C., 146
Wind in the Door, A (L’Engle), 192
Witzke, Brian, 7–9
Wolff, Jacob, 61
women
cancer risks for, 26–8
in radon studies, 158–9
Wonder, Stevie, 168
World Cancer Research Fund, 144
World Health Organization, 104, 184
Wrinkle in Time, A (L’Engle), 192
Xing, 192
x-rays, 13, 30, 36, 44, 53, 55, 183
in cancer therapy, 71, 162–3
as cause of cancer, 71–2, 74, 99, 161
possible benefits of, 159
Yamagiwa, Katsusaburo, 141, 197
Yamaguchi, Tsutomo, 160–1
Yampa Plateau, 15
Zahrawi, Abu al-Qasim al-, 48
Zbtb7 (oncogene), 85
Zelboraf (vemurafenib), 170–1, 174
zinc finger, 87
zinc sulfide, 73, 202