The Omniscient

Chapter 32: The Evolution of Cancer

Huang Ji's top priority was clear: improving his medical skills to extend his grandfather’s life.

For the foreseeable future, he decided to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to medicine and biochemistry, aiming to find a way to save his grandfather as soon as possible.

His learning targets were none other than the most elite medical professors in Shanghai.

Lü Qinggong, Vice Dean of Fudan University and a pathology professor, was also the top surgical expert at its affiliated hospital.

Half of the hospital’s master's and doctoral students had been mentored by him. As Fudan’s favorite doctoral advisor, he consistently had several graduate students under his wing each year.

Ranked among the top 3,000 surgeons globally, Lü was at the peak of his career, constantly researching the latest academic papers and refining surgical techniques.

That morning, he was scheduled to attend a seminar with several chief physicians to discuss a treatment plan for a lymphoma patient.

By the time most participants had arrived, Huang Ji entered the conference room, impeccably dressed, and quietly closed the door behind him.

Carrying twenty neatly printed information packets, he moved silently, placing a file in front of each attendee. One person even nodded at him without suspicion.

After distributing the files, Huang Ji sat quietly near the projector.

Lü Qinggong, seated at the head of the table, stared at Huang Ji for a moment before asking, “Who are you?”

Huang Ji quickly stood, bowing slightly with a polite smile. “Dean Lü, I’m Hua Xu, a student of Professor Yang Qizhong. Sister Xiao Qian had an emergency at home, and her phone ran out of battery, so she asked me to fill in for her. She’s already handed me the patient’s files, including their prior treatment records from Zhongshan Hospital, which are organized after page 27.”

The group flipped through to page 27 and indeed found the treatment records from Zhongshan Hospital.

“Additionally, Professor Zhang’s recommendations from Zhongshan Hospital have already been sent. Sister Xiao Qian said they’re attached to the second appendix.”

Lü Qinggong examined the materials, nodding as he waved his hand. “Hmm... got it. Take a seat.”

“By the way, are you familiar with the meeting agenda?”

Huang Ji replied, “Yes, I’ve assisted with similar meetings before.”

“Alright...” Lü didn’t press further. After letting everyone review the documents, the discussion began.

When the group began analyzing the specifics of the patient’s lymphoma metastasis, Lü was about to remind Huang Ji to activate the projector when the image was already displayed on the screen. Not only that, but Huang Ji had shown the exact sectional scan relevant to the discussion.

Pleased, Lü continued his analysis without comment.

As the seminar progressed, Lü grew accustomed to Huang Ji’s presence, nearly forgetting about the assistant altogether. Huang Ji seemed to anticipate his every need, seamlessly providing the required materials.

The meeting flowed exceptionally smoothly, without a single disruption.

By the time the treatment plan was finalized and the meeting was ending, Lü suddenly realized that Huang Ji was an extraordinary assistant—better than any graduate student he’d ever worked with.

Huang Ji hadn’t just supported the discussion; he’d practically been a part of it, consistently keeping up with the conversation to provide the exact information needed.

After the meeting, Lü Qinggong called Huang Ji over with a smile. “You’re quite impressive. What’s your name again?”

“Hua Xu.”

“Ah, you’re Professor Yang’s graduate student. I noticed you seemed very familiar with the case earlier. Are you researching cancer treatments?” Lü asked.

“Yes, I’m conceptualizing a drug that co-stimulates immune lymphocyte T-cells to block the PD-L1 binding on cancer cells,” Huang Ji replied.

“What? You’re studying that?” Lü was taken aback.

He’d assumed Huang Ji was working on a minor project, not tackling the problem of immune cells being tricked by cancer cells.

One of cancer’s greatest challenges lies in its ability to mimic a normal cell’s protein recognition pathway, causing immune cells to identify it as harmless. Developing a drug to block this deception could enable the immune system to attack and kill cancer cells naturally.

Lü remarked, “That’s an enormous topic for you to take on. Even I haven’t fully grasped it. I only learned about it from the latest papers, and Japan is leading the research in this area. Domestic pharmaceutical resources are still somewhat lacking. I only occasionally think about this issue.”

“Leveraging the immune system to kill cancer cells is widely recognized as the best approach to conquering cancer.”

“If such a drug is developed, even if it doesn’t cure all cancers, it would undoubtedly win a Nobel Prize!”

Huang Ji smiled. “I don’t think it’s the best solution.”

“Oh?” Lü looked surprised.

Huang Ji explained, “Cancer fundamentally stems from genetic mutations—errors that occur during cell replication and division, breaking the Hayflick limit. Countless factors can cause such mutations: viruses, fungi, chemicals, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet rays, and even hereditary cancer risks. Most troubling is the fact that stress and psychological pressure can also lead to cancer.”

“Isn’t this a form of biological adaptation to external environments? A transformation through genetic mutation—one that can even be encoded into hereditary material.”

“At its core, it is indeed a disease, because cancerous cells’ unchecked proliferation damages normal organs and tissues. But from the perspective of species evolution, this could be considered a process of adaptation or even evolution.”

“Perhaps immune cells don’t identify cancer cells as normal because cancer cells are ‘deceptive.’ Maybe this is simply a natural aspect of biological evolution!”

Lü was stunned. He had never heard such a radical theory.

Cancer as a form of evolution? The immune system deliberately allowing it?

Agitated, he retorted, “Are you kidding? Do you know how high the mortality rate is once cancer metastasizes? Cancer cells are destructive—this isn’t evolution; it’s death!”

“Yes, the mortality rate is indeed high,” Huang Ji acknowledged. “But there are also rare cases of spontaneous remission.”

Lü frowned. It was true—throughout history, there had been cases of cancer patients whose symptoms mysteriously disappeared, and the cancer never recurred.

“Survival of the fittest, natural selection,” Huang Ji continued. “Animals and humans alike suffer from cancer—it isn’t unique to humanity. Evolutionary theory emphasizes neutral mutations and natural selection, which is correct but incomplete. There must be a third factor... cancer-driven evolution!”

“This is a form of malignant mutation. In the short term and at the individual level, it’s a disease with a high mortality rate. But humanity’s civilization spans only a few millennia, and our existence as a species is just tens of thousands of years. On the scale of a species’ evolutionary trajectory, this malignancy might hold a positive significance.”

“Of course, humans have civilization and intelligence, so we can make unnatural changes. Current medical approaches aim to suppress cancer cells with drugs, surgically remove tumors before they spread, and block immune cells from mistakenly identifying cancer cells as allies.”

“These methods can certainly save lives and help individuals survive. But from the perspective of human species evolution, the current global approach to fighting cancer might be stifling humanity’s evolutionary potential.”

Lü’s anger flared. “Did you also study biology? I’ve trained dual-PhD students before, but I’ve never met anyone as heretical as you!”

Huang Ji chuckled and said, “Ahem… I understand. The purpose of medicine is to save lives. I just couldn’t help but point out that suppressing, excising, and eliminating cancer cells might not be the optimal approach. Rather than blocking it, why not redirect it? Assisting, facilitating, and positively guiding cancer to complete a beneficial genetic mutation in the human body—letting it ‘succeed’ fully and then naturally disappear—might be the best treatment strategy.”

“Not only would this cure cancer, but humanity would also take another small step forward on the path of adaptive evolution.”

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