25 Intuitions on Cancer
A Layperson's Thought Experiments Mapped to the Research Frontier — By An Seungwon
Proposal 1: Normal Fibroblast Cell Therapy
A novel approach injecting living normal fibroblasts into the tumor periphery to reconstitute a dormancy-supporting microenvironment.
Proposal 2: Autologous Tissue Isolation Barrier
Using the patient's own tissue — periosteum, fascia, muscle — to physically surround and isolate unresectable tumors, blocking invasion routes.
Immune System Engineering
Immune-based approaches including oncolytic viruses (T-VEC), cell competition (Flower proteins), and mRNA cancer vaccines.
Physical Forces & Tumor Dormancy
Non-pharmacological approaches (Optune, HIFU, histotripsy) and type III collagen-based tumor dormancy maintenance strategies.
Evolutionary Perspectives & Early Detection
Atavism theory of cancer (Paul Davies), fluorescence-guided surgery (5-ALA, Tumor Paint), and molecular recorders (CRISPR-based cell lineage tracing).
Meta-Analysis: The Pattern of Thinking
Five analogy domains (social, information-processing, physical, evolutionary, hierarchical), temporal span from 1889 to 2026, and analysis of outsider thinking freedom.
Insights
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