Background:
Nowadays, the amount of cross disciplinary research in many branches of science is growing dynamically. Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary evaluations are being carried out. Scientific progress, in combination with the development of knowledge and new technical discoveries, allows the most complex problems to be considered in an innovative way, which results in original solutions, not present in the previous, more traditional understanding.

Material and methods:
We reviewed the current data on the evaluation of pathological tissues using current mass spectrometry methods, including advanced isotope ratio mass spectrometry in the first known atomic level cancer studies.

Results:
The first attempts to estimate the stable isotope ratio in pathological tissues appeared as a potentially new method of understanding the biology of cancer. The changes in stable isotope concentration showed the relationship with the fundamentals of cancer – its promotion stage, and the mechanisms of its progression as well as its relationship to the standard prognostic biomarkers. The advanced multidisciplinary analysis of the results of isotope ratio assessment in cancer studies culminated in the creation of ‘The Revolve(r) Heavy Nitrogen Theory of Death’, which explains the phenomena of the proliferation force of cancer cells.

Conclusions:
Stable isotope profiling performed using the highly advanced and creditable isotope ratio mass spectrometry approach reveals the previously unknown area of pathological tissue biology. Overcoming interdisciplinary barriers opens a new branch of medical studies with a potential clinical application. The intriguing results of the first attempts and potential clinical implications should form the basis of the next atomic-level cancer studies projects.