The Tumor Suppression Theory of Aging

Source https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2021/11/the-tumor-suppression-theory-of-aging/

While they cannot explain aging as a whole, single cause theories of aging can be useful tools to frame discussion and investigation aimed at better understanding aging and its evolution. The theory presented here is aging viewed through the lens of cancer, two entwined processes. Aging is viewed as largely a consequence of tumor suppression mechanisms that evolved to keep cancer at a low enough incidence for successful selection and continuation of the species. Cancer and evolution are themselves in a dynamic, competing equilibrium. Evolution requires a certain minimal rate of spontaneous mutation, while cancer thrives on those mutations; the higher the rate, the higher the risk of cancer. An ever more complex arms race results, eventually resulting in the varied pace of mutation and aging, types of tumor suppression mechanisms, and incidence of cancer found across diverse species today.

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