The missing link between human ecology and public health: the case of cancer.

Modonesi, Carlo; Oddone, Enrico; Panizza, Celestino; Imbriani, Marcello

OBJECTIVES The primary role played by the 'ecological context' in clarifying the causes and dynamics of human health and disease is the topic of this article. It emphasizes that the challenging incidence of cancer and other diseases can be charged primarily to the effects of the worldwide dominant economic model. METHODS Human culture may act as a powerful force affecting the environment, biology and health of humans and other species. Human culture can be viewed as a special and extreme case of 'niche construction', where human-specific traits, technologies and beliefs act together. RESULTS The feedback between human activities and the environment can promote different trends in public health. This should provide the opportunity to rethink the consequences that our economic model produces both on the environment and on physical, mental and social health of our species.