Re: Chronic cellular hypoxia

I have no doubt that prolonged hypoxia can cause DNA changes - as can a great many things, such as prolonged exposure to toxins, prolonged inflammation and perhaps even prolonged stress.  And DNA changes can lead to cellular changes, which can lead to cancer.

It has been hypothesized that prolonged cellular hypoxia is the primary cause of cancer, though the consensus of opinion is that cellular hypoxia normally arises at the site of tumors, as opposed to being a primary cause of the tumors and being present in advance of the occurence of cancer.  So we again return to the "chicken versus the egg" question of which normally comes first - cancer or hypoxia.  No doubt prolonged cellular hypoxia could lead to cancer, but I don't think that is the case in all cancers at all and is usually a secondary effect which is a result of other causes, primarily prolonged inflammation and exposure to toxins.

The hypoxia hypothesis as a primary cause of cancer would also seem to be contradicted by the fact that peoples who live at the highest elevations and have less cellular oxygen even after adaptation tend to have much less incidence of overall cancer (the most common cancer is skin cancer, which is no doubt due to increased penetration of the harmful sunlight rays at higher altitudes). Of course, the diet and lifestyle of such peoples also tends to avoid conditions that lead to cellular hypoxia (such as consumption of harmful processed fats).  They also have less exposure to pollution and toxins.

Thanks for the post!

DQ