Figure 5.

The three principal periods of the transformation pathway to cancer [60]. Hypothetical links supported by experimental results are in grey rectangles. The remaining links are experimentally proven. In the first period, initiation, diminished energy supply (e.g., by parasitic energy consumption) results in decreased genome stability. Somatic mutations may include oncogene mutations that may result in impaired mitochondrial signaling. In the second period, precancerous state, mitochondrial dysfunction results in biophysical effects; coherent EMG activity of inflicted cells is down-regulated. In the final period, cancer, tumor cells with down- and up-regulated EMG activity are independent of the tissue control.