Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Herodotus38 1820 days ago
There is a cancer called CML, it used to be fatal, now there are targeted chemotherapies that work by inhibiting a tyrosine kinase. The test for the cancer is detecting the fusion gene Bcr-Abl. People with CML take a pill daily that targets the protein that is made by that abnormal gene.

The DNA paradigm explains this very well. How does the book explain this treatment?

How about a stem cell transplant? Why do they cure certain cancers? Does the metabolism of the person donating their stem cells get taken up and adopted permanently by the recipient?

1 comments

This is very tiring, and I mean that in a kind way. Honestly, whoever you are.

Let's look at the first Wikipedia sentence on tyrosine kinase as a starting point:

"A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to the tyrosine residues of specific proteins inside a cell."

What's ATP? We both know what ATP is. Is ATP deeply part of metabolism? We both know it almost is a definition of metabolism. I want to shout at you. But I don't know who you are or how to connect with you.

Please, for the love of anything that you find Holy, instead of arguing with me on the internet do this: Read the books I recommended, and start looking for the links to metabolism like I just did for you instead of trying to "see DNA everywhere". You will go so much further and help all of us than just arguing with me.

I mean it in good faith, and I am just trying to challenge how throwing out the dna paradigm explains things better. I agree that metabolism plays an important role in cancer, and we don’t fully understand it. But, I take issue with your original claim that the current paradigm is wrong because it explains things that I have personally seen in the lab when I did lab workup, in my clinical work and in my family members who have cancer and are being treated with medications that work.

As to the atp issue, yes it is involved with metabolism but so so much more. If you have time read The Biology if Cancer by R A Weinberg. He does a good job of exploring the historical investigations as wellas the science.