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Presents tumors as complex microbial communities within biofilms embedded in a hard matrix, where microorganisms drive genetic mutations and regulate angiogenesis. Suggests pathogens disseminate by hiding in tumor and M2/M2-like macrophages and other phagocytic immune cells, using melanin for energy to build tumors and metastases, and shaping treatment and prevention trajectories.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/microbes-macrophages-and-melanin-a-unifying-theory-of-disease-as-exemplified-by-cancer/372144/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/microbes-macrophages-and-melanin-a-unifying-theory-of-disease-as-exemplified-by-cancer/372144.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Hazel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-24","2026-09-23",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What theory does the article challenge, and what does it propose instead?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It challenges the random somatic mutation theory of cancer. 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Berg  \n [SZ.WE.DeptTransBiol@proton. me](SZ.WE.DeptTransBiol@proton. me)[ ](SZ.WE.DeptTransBiol@proton. me)Jonathan Berg  \n[jb.we.depttransbiol@proton. me](jb.we.depttransbiol@proton. me)  \nRECEIVED 10 September 2024  \nACCEPTED 03 December 2024  \nPUBLISHED 06 February 2025  \nCITATION  \nBerg SZ and Berg J (2025) Microbes, macrophages, and melanin: a unifying theory of disease as exemplified by cancer.  \nFront. Immunol. 15:1493978 .  \ndoi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1493978  \nCOPYRIGHT  \n© 2025 Berg and Berg. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the  \nCreative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) .  \nThe use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.  \nMicrobes, macrophages, and melanin: a unifying theory of disease as exemplified by cancer  \nStacie Z. Berg* and Jonathan Berg*  \nDepartment of Translational Biology, William Edwards LLC, Baltimore, MD, United States  \nIt is widely accepted that cancer mostly arises from random spontaneous mutations triggered by environmental factors. Our theory challenges the idea of the random somatic mutation theory (SMT) . The SMT does not fit well with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in that the same relatively few mutations would occur so frequently and that these mutations would lead to death rather than survival of the fittest. However, it would fit well under the theory of evolution, if we were to look at it from the vantage point of pathogens and their supporting microbial communities colonizing humans and mutating host cells for their own benefit, as it does give them an evolutionary advantage and they are capable of selecting genes to mutate and of inserting their own DNA or RNA into hosts. In this article, we provide evidence that tumors are actually complex microbial communities composed of various microorganisms living within biofilms encapsulated by a hard matrix; that these microorganisms are what cause the genetic mutations seen in cancer and control angiogenesis; that these pathogens spread by hiding in tumor cells and M2 or M2-like macrophages and other phagocytic immune cells and traveling inside them to distant sites camouflaged by platelets, which they also reprogram, and prepare the distant site for metastasis; that risk factors for cancer are sources of energy that pathogens are able to utilize; and that, in accordance with our previous unifying theory of disease, pathogens utilize melanin for energy for building and sustaining tumorsand metastasis. We propose a paradigm shift in our understanding of what cancer is, and, thereby, a different trajectory for avenues of treatment and prevention.  \nKEYWORDS  \ncancer, pathogens, tumor, bacteria & fungi, biofilm, microorganisms, subclinical infection, infection-immunology  \n1 Introduction  \nDespite 250 years of research (1) and billions of dollars invested in it – between 2016 and 2020 alone, the global investment in cancer research was estimated at about $24.5 billion (2)– cancer remains a global and urgent international health problem. In 2020, there were nearly 10 million cancer deaths (3) . Cancer is conventionally thought to be caused by random genetic mutations. We propose here a paradigm shift in our understanding of what cancer is,  \nFrontiers in Immunology 01 [frontiersin.org](frontiersin.org)  \nand thereby a different trajectory for avenues of treatment, preventi","cbCaivPgtkwiKMZt","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivPgtkwiKMZt","pdf",2701965,"English","# Introduction\n## Paradigm shift in cancer causation\n## Microbial organization: colonies, biofilms, tumors\n## Pathogen-driven mutation and angiogenesis\n## Dissemination, metastasis, and treatment implications","[{\"question\":\"What theory does the article challenge, and what does it propose instead?\",\"answer\":\"It challenges the random somatic mutation theory of cancer. It proposes that certain microorganisms use cancer as a targeted strategy to survive and thrive.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article describe the composition of tumors?\",\"answer\":\"Tumors are described as complex microbial communities composed of various microorganisms living within biofilms encapsulated by a hard matrix.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article explain how pathogens spread to cause metastasis?\",\"answer\":\"It proposes that pathogens spread by hiding in tumor cells and M2 or M2-like macrophages and other phagocytic immune cells, traveling to distant sites camouflaged by platelets and preparing those sites for metastasis.\"}]","Microbes, macrophages, and melanin: a unifying theory of disease as exemplified by cancer | PDF",1790193802,76]