Peto's paradox

proper noun

The observation that at the species level, the incidence of cancer does not appear to correlate with the number of cells in an organism.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. The observation that at the species level, the incidence of cancer does not appear to correlate with the number of cells in an organism.

    Peto's paradox has the clear implication that somehow longer-lived species are better protected from cancer than shorter-lived ones and, likewise, bigger species are better protected than smaller ones.

    2013, Jonathan Silvertown, The Long and the Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging

Origin

After Richard Peto.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Peto's paradox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Peto's%20paradox

MLA

“Peto's paradox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Peto's%20paradox. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Peto's paradox,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Peto's%20paradox.

Source: Peto's paradox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.