Summary
In this podcast episode, Peter Atia interviews Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a physician, scientist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. They discuss Mukherjee's background, including his education and current position as an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University. They also discuss his work in cancer research, specifically his collaboration with Atia's colleague, Lou Antley, on the use of ketogenic diets in combination with pi3 kinase inhibitors. Additionally, they talk about Mukherjee's book, "The Gene," and his other publications in medical journals.
Mukherjee explains that the idea for his book, "The Emperor of All Maladies," came to him during his fellowship and training when a patient asked him where they were going with cancer treatment. He discusses his writing process, which involves integrating his scientific work with storytelling. The updated version of the book will have new chapters on prevention, early detection, and treatment, with a focus on the role of the immune system.
The conversation also touches on the recent Nobel Prize awarded for the development of checkpoint inhibitors in immunotherapy and the relationship between cancer and the immune system. The speaker emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and skepticism in all aspects of life.
The article discusses metabolic oncology, a new branch of oncology that studies how the body's metabolic state affects cancer. It also explores the role of the immune system and how it can be ineffective against cancer cells due to specific factors that make the immune system unable to recognize or kill the cancer cells. The article focuses on a study that showed that some cancer cells become resistant to drugs by exploiting the hyperinsulinemia caused by the drug, which is a pre-diabetic state. The study demonstrated that a ketogenic diet can be used to paralyze this resistance.
Overall, the podcast and article emphasize the importance of understanding the history of cancer research and treatment, the role of the immune system, and the potential benefits of metabolic oncology and ketogenic diets in cancer treatment.
