Hereditary & Environmental Cancer ∼ Asbestos･Mesothelioma Clinic & Cancer Philosophy Clinic ∼

抄録

　Alfred G Knudson (1922-2016) was a man of great insight into the cancer genetics and a personal mentor of the author. Knudson developed the two-hit hypothesis (1971). From this hypothesis, the concept of tumor suppressor gene was led. In 1954 (my birth year), a Norwegian pathologist, R. Eker found an animal model of inherited tumor. The Eker rat developed bilateral, multiple and dominantly inheritable renal tumors. Utilizing syntenic homology between human and rat, a germline insertion was identified in the homologue of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) 2 gene (Tsc2) as the tumor predisposing mutation of the Eker rat. We, in researching hereditary kidney cancer in Eker rats, found that the product of the gene Erc, which appears with high frequency in simultaneous progressive process cancer, is secreted in the bloodstream, thereby providing a possible method for blood diagnosis. We reported that N-ERC/mesothelin could be a useful serum tumor marker for mesothelioma and have developed an ELISA kit (IBL. Co., Ltd. Gunma, Japan). ʻEnvironmental carcinogensʼ came to light in 1775 when the British surgeon Percival Pott reported scrotal cancer associated with chimney sweeps in ʻcancer stimulated by chimney soot.ʼ In 2003, I was immersed in the 100^th anniversary event of the worldly renowned cancer pathologist Tomizo Yoshida (1903-1973), who paved the way in unveiling the mechanism of cancer. Apart from being a cancer pathologist, Tomizo Yoshida was also a thinker who eloquently used analogies of cancer to explain his outlook on life. Cancer Philosophy (2004), considers cancer as a science along with the political philosophy which was suggested by Shigeru Nambara (1889-1974; the first president of the University of Tokyo after World War II) at the start of my adolescence. Cancer Philosophy Clinc was started at Juntendo University at 2008. I did compulsory retirement this March and gave a speech. I will review on “Hereditary cancer → Environmental carcinogenesis → Cancer Philosophy Clinic”.