Variation in cancer risk among tissues can be explained by the number of stem cell divisions

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1260825
• Publication Date: 2015-01-01T19:03:09Z
• Authors: Cristian Tomasetti; Bert Vogelstein
• Keywords: Luck

Crunching the numbers to explain cancer Why do some tissues give rise in humans a million times more frequently than others? Tomasetti and Vogelstein conclude that these differences can be explained by number of stem cell divisions. By plotting lifetime incidence various cancers against estimated normal divisions corresponding over lifetime, they found strong correlation extending five orders magnitude. This suggests random errors occurring during DNA replication cells are major contributing factor development. Remarkably, this “bad luck” component explains far greater hereditary environmental factors. Science , issue p. 78