Regeneration versus neoplastic growth.
Amphibian tissues seem to resist oncogenesis in proportion to their regenerative capacity, a phenomenon most easily seen in relation to limb regeneration. There is evidence that mammalian tissues also possess, in addition to and distinct from the capacity for physiological renewal, a limited and not always overtly evident degree of amphibian-like capacity for regeneration (epimorphic regeneration). It is the thesis of this paper that cancer in mammals would seldom occur were it not for a local destruction or exhaustion, secondary to injury or aging, of this normal amphibian-like regenerative capacity.
Prehn
R T
RT
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology