Very interesting article, just done some skimming on it. It kinda remind me of metastatic cancer review (http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/10/S1/S2) where gene transfer model could contribute in cancer metastasis.

Interesting question and paper, thanks Maurizio,

Let me allow writing down fast some thinking, although I am just a surgeon:

Let’s assume, the methods would be appropriate and the reproducibility available and by this it would be in regard to methodological aspects valuable, we have asking ourselves very carefully the following question:

1. In case we can insert circulating nucleic acids what do we prove with it and further what not?

2. Do we know why circulating nucleic acids occurred?

3. What is triggering the production of circulating nucleic acids?

4. Do we know, why the integration into the genome occurs?

5. If we are aware, that 40% of the genetic information in humans (which we poorly understand so far) is mobile DNA, does the information provided above influence our understanding in depth and if so in which regard?

6. Further we know that some 98% of the human genome are non-coding DNA – the question out of this – at least to me – would be: does the integrating of the circulating DNA result in coding or non-coding areas (and why)?

Although the integrated DNA is non-coding (less fascinating hypothesis) could be the beginning to understand the large differences in non-coding DNA in different organisms. In both cases, I am convinced that the genomic material, among many other things, is a tool of communication between cells of the same organism and between different organisms of the same and different species (I hope you will be forced to upgrade your paper "Cell Communication in the Tumor Microenvironment -cell, Carcinogenesis, and Anticancer Treatment ")

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Cancer_and_the_Somatic_Mutation_Theory_If_riding_on_horses_does_not_work_maybe_riding_on_a_tiger_or_an_elephant

yeap, I agree, although we already can assume, that bioelectrical networking and quorum sensing has huge impact. Our primary intent writing the cell-cell communication paper was providing additional deeper and more critical thinking and evidence in regard to our newly proposed cancer paradigm:

Epistemology of the Origin of Cancer: a new paradigm

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/14/331

It was quite a challenge, as the peer-review of the Epistemology paper took some 8 months and due to this our discussion increased as well as the cell-cell paper. For this, content needs being reflected. Saying so, we were quite disappointed reading the above paper of the blog "if riding on horses....." in one of the most recognized journals Nat Rev Cancers by realizing that the authors - as Knudson did it in 1971 - did not cite and re-cite one of the achievements of our scientific godfathers – why may be judged by each reader himself.

I get more and more to the point, that this kind of over reading and ignoring - Billroth named it receptive reading some 100 years ago - is one of "the" worse conditions in science (despite others).

However, getting back to your question:

I would assume, that the newly published approach by untwisting DNA by a pipette, polymer and a droplet of water by Deen et al. in ACS Nano 2015 will (hopefully) make it much easier for all of us within the future, as expensive sequencing could be replaced by a very cheap approach - in case it will be reproducible of course, here the web link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25561163

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/14/331

Interactions of foreing Nucleic Acids with cells are known having both positive and negative effects, some proposed that Viral genomes inserted into human genomes had an important effect in promoting genetic traits that later were favorished by its adaptove advantages, a slug is known having incorporated photosynthethic pathways from algae it used eating, and in the putative wrong side, this finding may add to the never proven warnings of genome of GMOs in food integrating in humans, but as we have no way to ascertain which ingested or circulating RNA or DNA will be positive or negative, to which body system, how often, and in which way, it's good considering that Hamlet style attitudes, as the one of an Internal Medicine Resident who had a night of insomnia after writing his first prescription in an hospital Ward: Aspirin, we better continue considering formal clinical or observational research as a source of information about the dangers of civlisation

Perhaps the questions posed by Björn had to be designed in a general sense and not specifically related to your paper?

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 Cell free nucleic acids are widely been many of our interest. Pertinent question remains that how they are secreted out by any cells, in healthy microenvironment or in various pathophysiological states.

Nucliec acids could be secreted in the form of lipidbilayer bound structure, this way nucleic acids could be stable and travel through out the lymphatic system etc and possibly modulate the physiology of interacting partner.

Exosomes could be additionally interesting conversation to continue with..

Yes. Check out Exosomes 

Indeed another dawn is breaking upon the vast and heterogenous field of pathophysiology.......

Please find below strong evidence supporting the new cancer hypothesis:

Japanese scientists treat lung cancer patients with anti-inflammatory and –fibrotic atrial natruretic peptide and show that patients have by this lower recurrence rates

Summary:

Interesting approach from Japanese scientists: the authors published in 2011 a paper in which they could show, that circulating tumor cells in pulmonary veins during the manipulation of lung cancer surgery could be a prognostic indicator for early recurrence [Funaki et al. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2011;40(2):322–327]. Further this group showed, that ANP downregulates inflammatory response and having a prophylactic effect on postoperative complications due to lung surgery [Njiri et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2012; 143(2): 488–494 Nojiri et al. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2013; 44(1):98–103; Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2012; 41(6):1330–1334]. It is important to mention that ANP - besides an inhibition of the renin-angiotesin-aldosteron path through specific binding to the guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A) receptor - has an anti-fibrotic effect (!) [Li et al. Curr Cardiol Rev 2001; 5(1):45–51 and Kishimoto et al. Curr Cardiol Rev 2009; 5(1):45–51]. Now the authors combined these findings and applicated ANP during curative lung cancer surgery and found that the recurrence rate (versus control) was lower.

Nojiri T et al.: Atrial natriuretic peptide prevents cancer metastasis through vascularendothelial cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Mar 16. pii: 201417273. [Epub ahead of print]

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/13/4086.abstract.html?etoc

Independent of the support of the recent published new cancer paradigm: 

“Epistemology of the Origin of Cancer: a new paradigm"

BMC Cancer 2014; 14:331: 1-8:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/14/331

and its its deeper explanations by 

“Cell-Cell Communication in the Tumor Microenvironment, Carcinogenesis, and Anticancer Treatment"

Cell Physiol Biochem 2014; 34: 213-243

http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/362978

this could be a very useful approach for future peri-operative application in cancer surgery

- and that is the reason why we are here for.

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/13/4086.abstract.html?etoc