Humanised models of cancer in molecular medicine: the experimental control of disanalogy. - Inserm - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale Access content directly
Journal Articles History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences Year : 2011

Humanised models of cancer in molecular medicine: the experimental control of disanalogy.

Abstract

This paper explores the epistemology of extrapolation from model organisms to humans in molecular medicine. We take into account two common views on the issue, the homology view and the disanalogy view. In response to both interpretations, we argue that the foundational basis of extrapolations cannot simply be provided by homology and that relevant disanalogies can, thanks to the techniques of molecular biology, be experimentally controlled and exploited to allow useful and reliable extrapolations. The case of "humanised mice" in the context of cancer stem cell research provides evidence of how animal models can be construed to approximate bona fide causal analogue models of human diseases. To supplement this view we show how the epistemology of model organisms needs to take into account the engineering side of molecular medicine. Model organisms are often manipulated to create analogies or remove disanalogies with the target system. We maintain that highlighting this feature is fundamental to explain what warrants extrapolation in the search for the molecular causes of disease.

Domains

Ethics Cancer
No file

Dates and versions

inserm-00803910 , version 1 (23-03-2013)

Identifiers

  • HAL Id : inserm-00803910 , version 1
  • PUBMED : 22662512

Cite

Paolo Maugeri, Alessandro Blasimme. Humanised models of cancer in molecular medicine: the experimental control of disanalogy.. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 2011, 33 (4), pp.603-21. ⟨inserm-00803910⟩

Collections

INSERM ETHIQUE
72 View
0 Download

Altmetric

Share

Gmail Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More