Therapeutic Revolution The History Of Medical Oncology From Early Days To The Creation Of The Subspecialty

Cancer is a disease responsible for several million annual deaths among humans, worldwide. However, advances in healthcare - which include breakthroughs in science and medicine as well as access to medical treatment - have improved the survival rate of cancer patients over the last few decades. Therapeutic Revolution relates the story of one of the great scientific tales of the twentieth century: how the field of medical oncology was created and its development owing to medical and scientific breakthroughs. The book unfolds the pre-clinical and clinical concepts and innovations that led to the creation of the medical subspecialty now known as medical oncology. Therapeutic Revolution is the first book ever written on the events that led to this subspecialty of internal medicine. It relates the recollection of key events obtained from interviews of the pioneers who laid the foundations of medical oncology, as well as the author's own experience of the pre-specialty era of medical practice. The book is essential reading for medical oncologists and for all readers interested in the history of cancer treatment and also serves as a historical primer for medical students learning oncology.

This volume strives to give oncologists and other medical practitioners a thorough picture of the oncology patient. It’s designed to show that psychological needs of the patient are an important aspect that should be considered for optimizing the effects of cancer treatment, no less than genetic, immunological, physiological and other medical features that are often considered as necessary components of personalized medicine. Using evidence-based information, the book describes the different ways cancer touches upon a person’s life, including emotional, physical, and social changes, important decisions, and support structure. It also details the phases every cancer patient encounters along the way, from getting tested and waiting for the diagnosis, to treatments, survival, and confronting one’s mortality. Psycho-oncology for the Clinician will serve to contribute to the further scientific development of psycho-oncology, expand its use as a treatment modality, strengthen its status as an essential component of cancer care, and promote the acceptance of psycho-oncology as the new evidence-based constituent of personalized medicine in oncology.

A 2022 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title An important history of the development of cancer centers of excellence and the revolution in cancer treatment. In the 1960s a coalition of concerned citizens, scientists and politicians joined forces to convince the federal government to focus its efforts on conquering cancer. The National Cancer Act of 1971 resulted and was signed into law on December 23, 1971 by President Nixon. The national “War on Cancer,” was declared with some leaders naively arguing that the disease would be conquered by the nation’s bicentennial—a mere five years in the future. Over the next five decades scientific discoveries demonstrated the great complexity of what had formerly been thought of as a single disease – with the advent of the genetic characterization of cancers, it is now recognized that there are almost an infinite number of cancers as defined by their many genetic mutations. The National Cancer Act established the infrastructure for the designation of centers by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and these centers have evolved into models of multidisciplinary, collaborative cancer research, treatment and prevention contributing to a reduction in cancer mortality and increase in quality of life and survival that has translated into more than 17 million cancer survivors in the United States in 2021. Centers of the Cancer Universe: A Half-Century of Progress Against Cancer tells the story of how cancer research was not front and center at most universities and research institutions before the National Cancer Act of 1971, and why many physicians were reluctant even to treat patients with cancer in the early 20th century. It follows the behind-the-scenes lobbying, resistance and negotiating that preceded signing the Act into law, and how the cancer centers of today came to fruition, and shaped how cancer research, clinical trials and treatment would be conducted.

‘The story of oncology is not only fascinating but also contains many accounts of dead ends, chance discoveries, illusions, mistakes and disappointments alongside the few successes.’These words are taken from the introduction to this book. The author, professor emeritus of Medical Oncology, reviews all aspects of the problem of cancer from a historical perspective, from the oldest existing records to the latest scientific and medical advances. It will interest the many people engaged in the treatment of cancer to read how the current therapeutic methods came about, and the book may also provide inspiration for cancer researchers, and for all those directly or indirectly involved with cancer. The layman looking for background information on a particular treatment may find it useful too. The various chapters can be read independently. A glossary and a few explanatory diagrams augment the text.This book grew out of an invitation the author received to lecture on the history of oncology. During his background reading, he discovered that there was no single volume dealing with the entire history of the subject. Fortunately, however, a great deal of information could be found here and there in the literature. As he read, he was struck by the fascinating stories behind many discoveries, and felt impelled to put them together in a single comprehensive account. The results of his labors are presented in this remarkable volume.The author, Prof. D.J.Th. (Theo) Wagener, was head of the department of Medical Oncology at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands from 1982 to 2001, chairman of the Educational Committee of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), a member of the Educational Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and a member of various international scientific working groups, mainly of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

This original fourteen chapter book is a brief, slightly autobiographic tale of medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, and breast cancer patients in a well-established cancer center in Texas, who pursued the goal of cure for breast cancer. The evolution of improved outcomes in the treatment of microscopic metastatic breast cancer is also the story of the development of adjuvant chemotherapy for post-operative breast disease. The adjuvant therapy of breast cancer came about with the realization that this malignancy, when diagnosed in most patients, had spread beyond the confines of the primary cancer. Patient histories in the form of Case Studies are used to illustrate certain issues. Devoted to the development of the chemotherapeutic regimens that currently are used to treat patients with advanced breast cancer.

The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has a history of excellence and is internationally recognized as a world class medical center, providing quality medical care, advancing medicine through clinical and laboratory research and facilitating the education of exceptional health care professionals. The Massachusetts General Hospital Radiation Oncology Department, staff, residents and fellows, past and present, concur that MGH stands for Man’s Greatest Hospital. This decidedly immodest assessment is widely viewed amongst this group as being manifestly true, and that perception is clearly reflected in a marvelous esprit de corp. Such an unequivocally positive attitude is solidly based on the judgment that the best possible care is provided to each MGH patient, i.e. the patient is, in fact, Number One. There is a deep sense of pride in the contributions made by this department to the scientific advancement of oncology, and to progressively and substantially increasing the proportion of patients who are free of tumor and of treatment related morbidity. Evolution of Radiation of Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital is the work of the former Chair of the Department, Herman D. Suit. From 1970 – 2000, his guidance and management of this Department brought it to recognition as a world class center. Dr. Suit was key in the development and building of the Department that now includes The Northeast Proton Therapy Center at the MGH. His passion for the science of radiation therapy and its evolving growth through the years is evident in this book. He has assembled a fascinating chronicle, beginning with the creation of MGH in 1811 followed by personal experiences that culminated with his leadership of the Radiation Oncology Department.

Précis This book is a treatise about the origin of cancers. I would like to convince readers that the basic tenets of the theory of a stem-cell origin of cancers also constitute a unified theory of cancer. Stem-cell origin of normal (and cancer) cells: Vitruvian version Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second, it is opposed, in the third, it is regarded as self-evident. – Arthur Schopenhauer v vi Preface Every person has a unique story to tell. My story is about cancer. Cancer touches the lives of countless people. Often enough, it leaves indelible tracks. Many lives have been lost; others are forever changed. For those who confront this deadly scourge, there is a sense of urgency, if not of desperation. For those who face im- nent death, life becomes even more precious and carries a special meaning. As an oncologist, I am touched daily by cancer. I feel its inception, evolution, and aft- math. It seems as though we are fighting an incessant war against cancer at the front line in the trenches. This is my story about cancer. Some people are terrific storytellers. Others have incredible tales to tell.

In The Ontario Cancer Institute Ernest McCulloch discusses how the institute, dedicated to the goal of reducing the burden of cancer, continuously strove for excellence and shows how both original and collaborative work were encouraged within a supportive environment. To achieve this goal the institute divided its operation into four strands: two of the strands were the research areas – the study of advanced radiation therapy and biology, which worked separatively but cooperatively; a third was patient care; and the fourth element was leadership, provided by the clinical chiefs, the heads of the research divisions, and the administration, in particular the institute's first administrator, John Law. Together these strands helped create a philosophy that made the Ontario Cancer Institute unique and provided the basis for its national and international success. Essential to these successes was a new graduate department, Medical Biophysics, based in the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies. This department, which provided an innovative, research-based doctoral and masters program, meant that the OCI could accurately be described as a centre for cancer treatment, research, and education. McCulloch describes how the first quantitative assay for stem cells played a major role in bringing OCI research to the international stage as well as influencing other science and much of the clinical thinking in the Institute. Other major advances that brought international recognition have been the identification of the mechanisms that allow cancer cells to resist death from the effects of a variety of different tumours and the isolation of the gene that encodes the T cell receptor, a critical part of the immune apparatus for dealing with foreign cells and viruses. McCulloch also details how lack of space to meet growing demands was a continuing source of frustration and disagreement, and how sometimes serious interpersonal problems hindered the forward thrust of development. Describing these events as well as institute's successes, he provides an insight into the history of Canada's premier cancer research centre.