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With such a background and based on the fundamental properties of biological systems, a new endogenous molecular\u2010cellular network theory for cancer was recently proposed by us. Similar proposals were also made by others. The new theory attempts to incorporate both genetic and environmental effects into one single framework, with the possibility to give a quantitative and dynamical description. It is asserted that the complex regulatory machinery behind biological processes may be modeled by a nonlinear stochastic dynamical system similar to a noise perturbed Morse\u2010Smale system. Both qualitative and quantitative descriptions may be obtained. The dynamical variables are specified by a set of endogenous molecular\u2010cellular agents and the structure of the dynamical system by the interactions among those biological agents. Here we review this theory from a pedagogical angle which emphasizes the role of modularization, hierarchy and autonomous regulation. We discuss how the core set of assumptions is exemplified in detail in one of the simple, important and well studied model organisms, Phage lambda. With this concrete and quantitative example in hand, we show that the application of the hypothesized theory in human cancer, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is plausible, and that it may provide a set of new insights on understanding cancer genesis and progression, and on strategies for cancer prevention, cure, and care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s40484-013-0007-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,2,5]],"date-time":"2013-02-05T23:26:06Z","timestamp":1360106766000},"page":"32-49","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":23,"title":["From Phage lambda to human cancer: endogenous molecular\u2010cellular network hypothesis"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"1","author":[{"given":"Gaowei","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"<!--1--> Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China"},{"name":"<!--2--> State Key Laboratory for Oncogenes and Related Genes Shanghai Cancer Institute Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200032 China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiaomei","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"<!--3--> GenMath, Corp. Seattle WA 98105 USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leroy","family":"Hood","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"<!--4--> Institute for Systems Biology Seattle WA 98103 USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ping","family":"Ao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"<!--1--> Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China"},{"name":"<!--2--> State Key Laboratory for Oncogenes and Related Genes Shanghai Cancer Institute Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200032 China"},{"name":"<!--5--> Department of Physics Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_2","article-title":"Textbook of Pathology","author":"Kumar 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