May 26, 2015
Since President Richard Nixon asked Congress for $100
million to declare a “war on cancer” in 1971, hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide have been
dedicated to research unlocking the mystery of the various forms of the
disease, and how to treat it. But some suggest the war may be being fought on
the wrong front.
To be sure, our understanding of genetics, cellular
growth and cancers has grown exponentially. We know how cancer can be linked to
mutations of genes that either encourage abnormal cell growth, or wreck the
internal system of checks and balances that normally stymie that growth. We
have narrowed the number of those genes down to several hundred. And, we know about genes that can halt
abnormal development. We’re inserting them into cancerous cells in trials.
Perhaps most significantly, we’re at a stage in which cancer specialists prefer
to refer to cancers by genetic makeup, instead of by the traditional organ of
first appearance. But for many cancers, none of this is working.......
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