One hundred years of somatic mutation theory of carcinogenesis: Is it time to switch?

Abstract

During this current year of 2014 biologists and cancer researchers will commemorate the centenary of the publication of Zur Frage der Entstehung maligner Tumoren (On the Origin of Malignant Tumors, Williams & Wilkins. Philadelphia, PA, USA) by the German zoologist Theodor Boveri, a book that directly and indirectly impacted both the biological sciences at large and cancer research in particular. Before 1914, Boveri made important contributions in the fields of Mendelian inheritance, cellular and developmental biology: among others, the Sutton– Boveri theory of chromosomal inheritance; the individuality of chromosomes and the concept that the assortment of chromosomes rather than their number was necessary for development; the finding that comparable sets of chromosomes are contributed by the oocyte and the sperm. Boveri also paved the way for the discovery of the “organizer” by Spemann and Mangold [1]. These contributions were the fruit of his great observational skills, experimental ingenuity and dexterity, and his theorizing acuity. Finally, he wrote the aforementioned book, widely acknowledged to be seminal in cancer pathogenesis.