CANCER THERAPIES

Since President Nixon’s “War on Cancer” speech in 1971, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has invested over 29 billion dollars in cancer research. In 1984, the NCI predicted cancer deaths would decrease by half in the year 2000. Unfortunately, this prediction has been unfulfilled.

In the past, cancer was always second to heart disease, but it may take over the number 1 spot within a few years. This year alone, 555,000 American’s are expected to die from cancer; that is 215,000 more than in 1971 (do keep in mind that the population has increased, so if you compare the numbers to the total population the rates are nearly equal). At any rate, cancer deaths have not been cut in half.

For a few of the leading cancer types, death rates have decreased. Fatalities from colon and rectal cancers have decreased by about 15% over the last 20 years and breast cancer fatalities have leveled off. These successes have been attributed to both improved early detection methods and better treatment. On a positive side, deaths due to uncommon cancers such as childhood leukemia, testicular cancer and Hodgkin’s disease have declined dramatically. Twenty years ago, these cancers were usually fatal. The outlook is much more optimistic for people with certain types of cancers and there is a noticeable improvement in the quality of life for the average patient.

But why hasn’t the incidence of cancer declined? For starters, it wasn’t clear how normal cells even became cancer cells back in 1971. Even now, the exact sequence of molecular events that must transpire for a cell to become cancerous is unclear. How can you find a needle in a haystack if you don’t know what a needle is?

A single cell is terribly complicated. There are millions events transpiring within an individual cell, possibly even more. Another big reason is the aging population. Cancer is most common in older people. In a society with more older people it makes sense for there to be a higher incidence of cancer. Oddly enough, the wider use of screening tests has actually increased cancer numbers. People are diagnosed with tiny tumors that may not ever develop into cancer, but they receive treatment for cancer nonetheless.