Cancer control through principles of systems science, complexity, and chaos theory: A model

Abstract

Cancer is a significant medical and societal problem. This reality arises from the fact that an exponential and an unrestricted cellular growth destabilizes human body as a system. From this perspective, cancer is a manifestation of a system-in-failing. A model of normal and abnormal cell cycle oscillations has been developed incorporating systems science, complexity, and chaos theories. Using this model, cancer expresses a failing subsystem and is characterized by a positive exponential growth taking place in the outer edge of chaos. The overall survival of human body as a system is threatened. This model suggests, however, that cancer's exponential cellular growth and disorganized complexity could be controlled through the process of induction of differentiation of cancer stem cells into cells of low and basic functionality. This concept would imply reorientation of current treatment principles from cellular killing (cyto-toxic therapies) to cellular retraining (cyto-education).