Wiseman Richard A
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Med Hypotheses. 2003 Jan;60(1):112-5. doi: 10.1016/s0306-9877(02)00343-2.
The cause of most cancers is unknown, appearing apparently sporadically in the population. Where causality is known, some have a single cause only. It is hypothesised that some cancers, currently of unknown cause, are due to a single cause. Databases relating to the aetiology and epidemiology of a number of selected cancers and to theories of cancer causation were systematically searched. Data review shows that some cancers have a single cause, even in all known settings; others have single causes in specific settings and different causes in alternative settings; others have multiple causes. It is further hypothesised that, particularly for breast and ovarian cancer, specific directed investigations might be successful in elucidating the aetiology if due to single cause. Such investigations should occur in groups of diseased subjects, non-diseased but at-risk subjects, and normal (control) populations. These investigations should include tests for trace elements, chemicals, antibodies to infective agents, and markers of inflammation. Systematic differences between groups might give strong clues to aetiology.
大多数癌症的病因尚不清楚，在人群中似乎呈散发性出现。在已知因果关系的情况下，有些癌症仅有单一病因。据推测，目前病因不明的一些癌症是由单一病因引起的。我们系统地检索了与多种选定癌症的病因学和流行病学以及癌症病因理论相关的数据库。数据审查表明，有些癌症即使在所有已知情况下都只有单一病因；有些在特定情况下有单一病因，而在其他情况下有不同病因；还有些有多种病因。进一步推测，特别是对于乳腺癌和卵巢癌，如果是由单一病因引起，特定的定向研究可能会成功阐明其病因。此类研究应在患病个体、未患病但有风险的个体以及正常（对照）人群中进行。这些研究应包括对微量元素、化学物质、感染因子抗体和炎症标志物的检测。不同组之间的系统性差异可能为病因学提供有力线索。
