ArticleBioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology2011
The tissue organization field theory of cancer: a testable replacement for the somatic mutation theory.
Article in BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 145 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
145 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systemic Alterations of Cancer Cells and Their Boost by Polyploidization: Unicellular Attractor (UCA) Model.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- The underexplored links between cancer and the internal body climate: Implications for cancer prevention and treatment.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 2-associated molecular signature predicts lung cancer survival.Scientific reports · 2015Pooled it
- Evidence-based lifestyle guidance can complement radiological protection - reducing radiation-related cancer risk through lifestyle modification.Radiation and environmental biophysics · 2026Review
- The "Selfish Cell": The Central Role of Metabolism in Relaying Environmental Stimuli and Controlling Cellular Function.Biology · 2026Review
- Measurable Residual Disease and the Unresolved Biology of Leukemic Stem Cells.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Review
- A mechanovascular framework for pre-neoplastic microenvironmental dysregulation and early carcinogenesis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- The integrated theory of carcinogenesis: cancer as dysregulated persistence under chronic systemic stress.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- The Warburg hypothesis and the emergence of the mitochondrial metabolic theory of cancer.Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes · 2025Review
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- Article
- The Multiscale Wisdom of the Body: Collective Intelligence as a Tractable Interface for Next-Generation Biomedicine.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Evidence of Epigenetic Oncogenesis: A Turning Point in Cancer Research.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- The first embryo, the origin of cancer and animal phylogeny. V. Cancer stem cells as the unifying biomechanical principle between embryology and oncology.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2025Review
- The end of the genetic paradigm of cancer.PLoS biology · 2025Review
- Meeting Review: "National Cancer Institute Conference on Cancer Bioelectricity" September 12, 2024.Bioelectricity · 2025Review
- Mathematical models of intercellular signaling in breast cancer.Seminars in cancer biology · 2025Review
- Bioelectricity is a universal multifaced signaling cue in living organisms.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Review
- Evolution of Bioelectric Membrane Potentials: Implications in Cancer Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Strategies.The Journal of membrane biology · 2024Review
- From precursor to cancer: decoding the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia progression.Carcinogenesis · 2024Review
85 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The somatic mutation theory (SMT) of cancer has been and remains the prevalent theory attempting to explain how neoplasms arise and progress. This theory proposes that cancer is a clonal, cell-based disease, and implicitly assumes that quiescence is the default state of cells in multicellular organisms. The SMT has not been rigorously tested, and several lines of evidence raise questions that are not addressed by this theory. Herein, we propose experimental strategies that may validate the SMT. We also call attention to an alternative theory of carcinogenesis, the tissue organization field theory (TOFT), which posits that cancer is a tissue-based disease and that proliferation is the default state of all cells. Based on epistemological and experimental evidence, we argue that the TOFT compellingly explains carcinogenesis, while placing it within an evolutionarily relevant context.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.