Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Autism and Cancer

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Cancer

  • 105 Accesses

Definition

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disease characterized by lasting behavioral problems in social communication and social interaction. Autistic individuals display repetitive behaviors and difficulty in adapting to change. Symptoms of autism begin in early childhood, usually in the first 2 years of life, and most individuals require help in daily life.

Characteristics

To many, autism and cancer may appear as two separate ailments with nothing in common. Autism is widely viewed as a poorly defined neurodevelopmental alteration with such a variety of symptoms that a commonly accepted designation is autism spectrum disorders. The etiology of autism is unknown, and the significance of genetic mutations versus environmental factors is still under investigation. Cancer is a disease of the genome, influenced by environmental factors and characterized by mutations in DNA and alterations in gene expression.

Little is understood about the pathogenesis or progression of autism; a recent...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Borrie SC, Brems H, Legius E et al (2017) Cognitive dysfunctions in intellectual disabilities: the contributions of the Ras-MAPK and PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathways. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 18:115–142

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kajizuka M, Miyachi T, Matsuzaki H et al (2010) Serum levels of platelet-derived growth factor BB homodimers are increased in male children with autism. Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 34(1):154–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kang DW, Adams JB, Gregory AC et al (2017) Microbiota transfer therapy alters gut ecosystem and improves gastrointestinal and autism symptoms: an open-label study. Microbiome 5(1):10

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ruggiero M (2017a) Fecal microbiota transplantation and the brain microbiota in neurological diseases. Clin Endosc 49(6):579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruggiero M (2017b) Is Rerum the new Coley’s vaccine? Am J Immunol 13(2):91–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo AJ (2014) Increased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) associated with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and symptom severity in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). J Cent Nerv Syst Dis 6:79–83

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Shaaban SY, El Gendy YG, Mehanna NS et al (2017) The role of probiotics in children with autism spectrum disorder: a prospective, open-label study. Nutr Neurosci 7:1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tylee DS, Hess JL, Quinn TP et al (2017) Blood transcriptomic comparison of individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder: a combined-samples mega-analysis. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 174(3):181–201

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vojdani A, Mumper E, Granpeesheh D et al (2008) Low natural killer cell cytotoxic activity in autism: the role of glutathione, IL-2 and IL-15. J Neuroimmunol 205(1–2):148–154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zakareia FA, Al-Ayadhi LY, Al-Drees AA (2012) Study of dual angiogenic/neurogenic growth factors among Saudi autistic children and their correlation with the severity of this disorder. Neurosciences (Riyadh) 17(3):213–218

    Google Scholar 

See Also

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Dr. Jerry Blythe, MD, for critical review of the essay and for providing precious suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development, Silver Spring Sagl, Arzo-Mendrisio, Switzerland

    Marco Ruggiero

Authors
  1. Marco Ruggiero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Ruggiero .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany

About this entry

Cite this entry

Ruggiero, M. (2018). Autism and Cancer. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7264-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7264-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation