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      A lex naturalis delineates components of a human-specific, adrenal androgen-dependent, p53-mediated ‘kill switch’ tumor suppression mechanism

      review-article
      1
      Endocrine-Related Cancer
      Bioscientifica Ltd
      p53, TP53, DHEA, cancer prevention, vitamin C

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          Abstract

          We have recently described in this journal our detection of an anthropoid primate-specific, adrenal androgen-dependent, p53-mediated, ‘kill switch’ tumor suppression mechanism that reached its fullest expression only in humans, as a result of human-specific exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons caused by the harnessing of fire – but which has components reaching all the way back to the origin of the primate lineage. We proposed that species-specific mechanisms of tumor suppression are a generalized requirement for vertebrate species to increase in body size or lifespan beyond those of species basal to their lineage or to exploit environmental niches which increase exposure to carcinogenic substances. Using empirical dynamic modeling, we have also reported our detection of a relationship between body size, lifespan, and species-specific mechanism of tumor suppression (and here add carcinogen exposure), such that a change in any one of these variables requires an equilibrating change in one or more of the others in order to maintain lifetime cancer risk at a value of about 4%, as observed in virtually all larger, longer-lived species under natural conditions. Here we show how this relationship, which we refer to as the lex naturalis of vertebrate speciation, elucidates the evolutionary steps underlying an adrenal androgen-dependent, human-specific ‘kill switch’ tumor suppression mechanism; and further, how it prescribes a solution to ‘normalize’ lifetime cancer risk in our species from its current aberrant 40% to the 4% that characterized primitive humans. We further argue that this prescription writ by the lex naturalis represents the only tenable strategy for meaningful suppression of the accelerating impact of cancer upon our species.

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          Most cited references61

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          Uric acid provides an antioxidant defense in humans against oxidant- and radical-caused aging and cancer: a hypothesis.

          During primate evolution, a major factor in lengthening life-span and decreasing age-specific cancer rates may have been improved protective mechanisms against oxygen radicals. We propose that one of these protective systems is plasma uric acid, the level of which increased markedly during primate evolution as a consequence of a series of mutations. Uric acid is a powerful antioxidant and is a scavenger of singlet oxygen and radicals. We show that, at physiological concentrations, urate reduces the oxo-heme oxidant formed by peroxide reaction with hemoglobin, protects erythrocyte ghosts against lipid peroxidation, and protects erythrocytes from peroxidative damage leading to lysis. Urate is about as effective an antioxidant as ascorbate in these experiments. Urate is much more easily oxidized than deoxynucleosides by singlet oxygen and is destroyed by hydroxyl radicals at a comparable rate. The plasma urate levels in humans (about 300 microM) is considerably higher than the ascorbate level, making it one of the major antioxidants in humans. Previous work on urate reported in the literature supports our experiments and interpretations, although the findings were not discussed in a physiological context.
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            Potential Mechanisms for Cancer Resistance in Elephants and Comparative Cellular Response to DNA Damage in Humans.

            Evolutionary medicine may provide insights into human physiology and pathophysiology, including tumor biology.
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              Adult height, nutrition, and population health.

              In this review, the potential causes and consequences of adult height, a measure of cumulative net nutrition, in modern populations are summarized. The mechanisms linking adult height and health are examined, with a focus on the role of potential confounders. Evidence across studies indicates that short adult height (reflecting growth retardation) in low- and middle-income countries is driven by environmental conditions, especially net nutrition during early years. Some of the associations of height with health and social outcomes potentially reflect the association between these environmental factors and such outcomes. These conditions are manifested in the substantial differences in adult height that exist between and within countries and over time. This review suggests that adult height is a useful marker of variation in cumulative net nutrition, biological deprivation, and standard of living between and within populations and should be routinely measured. Linkages between adult height and health, within and across generations, suggest that adult height may be a potential tool for monitoring health conditions and that programs focused on offspring outcomes may consider maternal height as a potentially important influence.

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Endocr Relat Cancer
                Endocr. Relat. Cancer
                ERC
                Endocrine-Related Cancer
                Bioscientifica Ltd (Bristol )
                1351-0088
                1479-6821
                February 2020
                09 December 2019
                : 27
                : 2
                : R51-R65
                Affiliations
                [1 ]ACGT Biotechnology , Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA
                Author notes
                Correspondence should be addressed to J W Nyce: professor@ 123456acgt.us
                Article
                ERC-19-0382
                10.1530/ERC-19-0382
                6993206
                31815681
                9c92326f-0f9e-40fa-9e0d-616bbc3e3b58
                © 2020 The authors

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 12 November 2019
                : 09 December 2019
                Categories
                Review

                Oncology & Radiotherapy
                p53,tp53,dhea,cancer prevention,vitamin c
                Oncology & Radiotherapy
                p53, tp53, dhea, cancer prevention, vitamin c

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