Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


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6939756 
Journal Article 
Stem cell divisions, somatic mutations, cancer etiology, and cancer prevention 
Tomasetti, C; Li, L; Vogelstein, B 
2017 
1 
Science
ISSN: 0036-8075
EISSN: 1095-9203 
355 
6331 
1330-1334 
English 
28336671 
WOS:000397082900043 
Cancers are caused by mutations that may be inherited, induced by environmental factors, or result from DNA replication errors (R). We studied the relationship between the number of normal stem cell divisions and the risk of 17 cancer types in 69 countries throughout the world. The data revealed a strong correlation (median = 0.80) between cancer incidence and normal stem cell divisions in all countries, regardless of their environment. The major role of R mutations in cancer etiology was supported by an independent approach, based solely on cancer genome sequencing and epidemiological data, which suggested that R mutations are responsible for two-thirds of the mutations in human cancers. All of these results are consistent with epidemiological estimates of the fraction of cancers that can be prevented by changes in the environment. Moreover, they accentuate the importance of early detection and intervention to reduce deaths from the many cancers arising from unavoidable R mutations.