A recent debate has arisen from a study published in Science by Bert Vogelstein, an authoritative scholar, whose role has been fundamental in understanding the genetic molecular mechanisms that cause cancer. However, the study, beyond the author’s intentions, has led to a distorted reading, insinuating into public opinion the idea that cancer is a matter of bad luck.
Professor Alberto Mantovani, Scientific Director of Humanitas and lecturer at Humanitas University, spoke on this subject with an article in the Corriere della Sera, reiterating once again that we can do a lot against cancer in terms of early diagnosis and above all prevention.
In his first study, “Vogelstein, using mathematical analyses, estimated the incidence of spontaneous transformation of normal cells into tumors, in the absence of cancer-inducing substances (so-called carcinogens), based on the number of stem cells present and their frequency of reproduction in the various organs,” explains Prof. Mantovani.
Lifestyle and environment are key factors
“In his very recent new study, he extended his data to other populations outside the United States: Science published it along with a prospective article that highlights some weaknesses and limitations of his scientific analysis. The mathematical models cannot be exhaustive in themselves in a complex phenomenon such as the natural history of a tumour, but they must be refined because they are potentially of extraordinary utility”.
Prof. Mantovani also points out that the study pays little attention to a country like India, where due to lifestyle changes, the incidence of cancer is changing dramatically.
“Epidemiology tells us, for example, that Japanese women who moved to the United States from the second generation onwards have seen their risk of breast cancer increase almost tenfold. This is an incontrovertible fact that suggests that lifestyle and environment are a determining factor for cancer,” the professor continues.
Prevention and early diagnosis
“The estimates of the Vogelstein study and the resulting message should therefore be taken with a critical spirit, avoiding interpretations that could be misleading for health. We cannot intervene in luck, but we can act in other risk factors. We must therefore do everything in our power to defeat cancer: prevention and early diagnosis, research to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies,” says Prof. Mantovani.
Our National Health Service guarantees everyone access to early diagnosis tools: data shows that Italy is doing well, although there are still some imbalances in territorial terms to work with.
From the point of view of prevention, however, more needs to be done, with action on lifestyle and the environment: pollutants need to be reduced and everyone needs to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Prof. Mantovani suggests his golden rule of 0-5-30: zero cigarettes, at least five portions of fresh fruits and vegetables and thirty minutes of moderate exercise per day.
The importance of research
“We can and must also improve in the scientific field: by studying and better understanding genetic and environmental risk factors, molecular mechanisms for the development and progression of cancer, immunological defence mechanisms that monitor our bodies, eliminating cancer cells, and which we now use as a new therapeutic weapon. Cancer is therefore not just a matter of bad luck. His defeat is a result of all these factors, and therefore may depend on us,” concludes Professor Alberto Mantovani.
