Cancer Research

What is cancer?

Cancer is any malignant growth or tumour caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division.

It is widely believed that damaged DNA and genes are the 'driving force' behind the development of cancer and they are therefore the focus of cancer research.

Unlike in healthy cells, damaged DNA is not capable of repair in cancerous cells.

People can inherit damaged DNA, which accounts for many cancers. A person's DNA may also become damaged by exposure to environmental factors, such as through smoke inhalation. Cancer cells travel around the body and begin to attack healthy tissue in a process called metastasis. This occurs when the cancer cells get into the bloodstream or lymph vessels of the body.

'Benign' tumours develop through the same process, but do not spread to other parts of the body (metastatize) and, with very rare exceptions, are not life-threatening.

There are over 200 different types of cancer that can occur anywhere in the body, the most frequently occurring are lung, breast and bowel cancer.


Background

Cancer has long been globally recognised as a deadly disease. It has therefore historically attracted the attentions of the world's leading physicians.

However, it was not until the 20th century that scientists were able to provide real solutions to the complex questions of biology and chemistry involved in cancer.

Previously, scientists were aware that cancer could be caused by an assortment of factors, including chemicals, radiation, and viruses, and that susceptibility to cancer may be inherited, but understanding remained limited.

In the early 20th century, surgery remained the only method for effectively dealing with cancer, but this was only effective on small and localised cancers that could be completely removed.

Radiation techniques were subsequently developed for use after surgery to control small tumour growths. Chemotherapy (drug treatment) was developed to destroy small tumour growths that were not treatable by other methods.

A major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer was the use of multiple chemotherapeutic agents (known as combination chemotherapy) over single agents.

Another milestone occurred in 1953 with the pioneering work into the structure of DNA by British scientists James Watson and Francis Crick. This work helped improve understanding of the nature of DNA and it's centrality to the cancerous disease process.

The knowledge provided by molecular biology and genetics is today helping to inform research on cures for cancer, and although a 'miracle cure' has yet to be found, there have been vast improvements in understanding cancer over the last decade.

In September 2000, the Government published the NHS Cancer Plan, the first attempt to create a comprehensive strategy for NHS cancer services.

Information on what research is being conducted in the UK is available from the National Cancer Research Institute, which in 2002 set up a Cancer Research Database (CRD) providing information on different areas of cancer research.

Research commissioned in 2001 by the Medical Research Council covered a broad area, including basic cell and molecular biology research in humans and 'lower organisms' such as yeast and fruit flies. These organisms may also be used to research the effect of cancer causing agents on DNA.

More sophisticated and complex studies include using genetics and epidemiology to identify inherited and environmental factors and to research how they interact and contribute to cancer.


Controversies

The National Cancer Research Institute's 2002 publication of a breakdown of research figures in the UK created controversy about the way that funds were being distributed between diseases.

In particular, it revealed that research into lung cancer gets only three per cent of the available funding in the UK despite accounting for 22 per cent of the total deaths from cancer in 2000. On the other hand, leukaemia received almost 18 per cent of the total funding, yet only accounted for approximately three per cent of deaths in 2002.

The use of animals in cancer research is also a particularly problematic topic.


Statistics

Cancer is the biggest killer in the UK (replacing heart disease)

Smoking causes a third of all cancer deaths and lung cancer alone kills one person every 15 minutes in the UK

Cancers of the lung, breast, bowel and prostate account for over half of all new cases

In Britain, the lifetime risk of developing cancer is more than one in three

Statistics: (Source: Cancer Research UK)


Quotes

"To save more lives; to ensure people with cancer get the right professional support and care as well as the best treatments; to tackle the inequalities in health that mean unskilled workers are twice as likely to die from cancer as professionals; to build for the future through investment in the cancer workforce, through strong research and through preparation for the genetics revolution, so that the NHS never falls behind in cancer care again."

Aims of the NHS Cancer Plan, as stated by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, 2002