The somatic mutation theory and the view that cancer is a genetic disease originated with Theodor Boveri’s essay on the origin of malignant tumors, published in 1914.

"The scientific community assumes that the claims in a preclinical study can be taken at face value — that although there might be some errors in detail, the main message of the paper can be relied on and the data will, for the most part, stand the test of time. Unfortunately, this is not always the case."