mk: I do cancer research, and I agree with this assessment to an extent. First off, I think that we will be able to cure cancers, and that we will be able to isolate the underpinnings of any given cancer, and reverse them. I also believe that viruses, and transposition of genetic information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposon probably play a large role, maybe larger than oxidation. I study glioma, and glioma cells are very very different from normal cells, often bearing many copies of single genes, commonly mutated versions of single genes, and significant loss and gain of large regions of chromosomal material. From my experience, cancer cells and normal cells are very different beasts, and although oxidation can shorten the trip from normal to tumorigenic (possibly by knocking out anti-cancer mechanisms, DNA repair, suicide mechanisms, etc.) it's my guess that environmental factors, and immunological factors are more significant. In fact, I believe that you could induce the same tumorigenic mutations in cells of two individuals, and one would grow a tumor and one would not.Currently, I am studying the release of microRNAs from tumors into the bloodstream. These are genetic regulating molecules, that circulate throughout the body. Based on what I am finding, I don't think that tumor growth is so much a local battle as it is a global one. Personally, I think tumor wages a battle against the immune system more than anything else. It's just an educated guess, but I think if you could give an 80 year-old the immune system of a 20 year old, their oxidative damage wouldn't be such an issue.