facetiously referred to them as “MAFia in cancer”. In their seminal review of Maf transcription factors (MafTFs), important for the cancer cells-stroma interactions, Eychene et al. The thinking of cancer as of mafia within a „society of body”, as we will try to convince, invoking only some of the recent reports from the literature on cancer, helps also to explain methodological pitfalls in research on cancer.īy the way, here we would like to mention that we are not the first who juxtapose terms of cancer and mafia. In our opinion this concept much better fits not only to the true nature of cancer, but it also represents cancer-related problems more vividly and simply may better speak to imagination. We shall try to explain and convince that it better fits to complicated reality of cancer and may be helpful in both everyday research works as well as in any anticancer educational and prophylactic campaigns. Therefore we want to put forward a concept of cancer as a form of “mafia” within a body. We think that oncologists and any other professionals engaged in cancer research and treatment should have in their mental and conceptual armamentarium a more diversified representation of cancer and also a way to grasp better its reality which would result also in more faithful explanation the intricacy of the disease to the patients. Let us make clear our posit: simplistic conceptual representation of cancer may be practical and even optimism-bearing in terms of doctor-patient relation, however on the other hand, in the long run, especially in case of any failure or complication of treatment, not so effective and even counterproductive. On the contrary, the truth of cancer seems to be rather like in Oskar Wilde’s statement: (in which the truth is) “rarely pure and never simple”. Cancer cannot be neither reduced nor perceived exclusively in terms of any of the above mentioned issues. It is necessary to have a way of description of cancer, not only in terms of singular mechanisms (improper signaling, apoptosis) or factors (genetic, environmental) or even issues, like stem cell concept, but visualizing cancer as a holistic and dynamic phenomenon - not as an “alien” but rather “one of us”. This complex relationship between cancer and its host is typically either neglected or at least intentionally underrated. This becomes especially true having in mind what we know about cancer nowadays. This concept, psychologically justified, since its poses cancer as if an extrinsic enemy, leaves however little room for better understanding its complex relationship with the whole body of the afflicted person. Most typically, cancer has been perceived as a sort of an alien. The effectiveness of our dealings with cancer and its clinical, scientific, and educational aspect depends very much on how we perceive, represent and address its complex biology.
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