Strive as we might to develop definitive chemotherapies, cures for many cancers still persistently elude us. Why can’t we seem to get there from here? – A very old paradigm may offer helpful, new insight.
Millions of dollars and years of intensive research, consuming the lifetime dedication of the world’s brightest researchers, have been assiduously applied toward searching for cures for cancers. The cost of treating cancers continues to rise, having surpassed $150 billion in 2010, and expected to increase further by 39% in the next 10 years. Although impressive breakthroughs have been realized, cancer in general remains a relentless, unabated killer, claiming more than half a million lives each year in the United States alone. New chemotherapy protocols, meant to improve the outcome of resistant cancers, are deemed a success if they achieve mere palliation or a temporary regression of tumor growth. Could it be that taking a fundamentally new approach might lead to more meaningful advances in detecting and treating even the most difficult malignancies?
Written by:
Watson RA Are you the author?
Urologic Oncology, John Theuer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ; Division of Urology, UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ.
Reference: Urol Oncol. 2013 Aug;31(6):721-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2013.02.011
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23769267
