Elephants Mysterious Resistance To Cancer

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Peto’s paradox asks why elephants have 100 times more cells than humans and similar lifespans, but only 4.5% of elephant deaths are attributed to cancer while 11%-25% of human deaths are attributed to cancer. Simple logic states that elephants would have a much higher probability of cancer purely due to their number of cells in their bodies. New research by two separate research teams is showing why this is true. This research shows that elephants have twenty copies of the gene TP53 while humans have only one. The TP53 gene codes for the protein p53. The protein p53 is a tumor suppressor protein. It is responsible for repairing cells and if needed sending them into apoptosis or cell death. Apoptosis reduces the risk of cancer by killing mutated cells that could turn into cancer cells.The research also indicates that the TP53 gene in elephants operates slightly differently than in humans.  The TP53 in elephants more quickly resorts to apoptosis. This reduces the risk of cancer by more quickly killing mutated cells that could turn into cancer cells. This is a definitive answer to Peto's paradox. The next question researchers are asking is how this knowledge could be used to prevent cancer in humans. The research is just beginning and there is no one hypothetical solution. Researchers are still determining the best way to attempt this. Using this as a cancer treatment is years if not decades in the future. For now scientists are still trying to figure out the more intricate details of how elephants resist cancer.