The possible prevention of cancer

Environmental Health

Proceedings

John Cairns¹ 

[1] Clinical Trial Service Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK and 105 Alleyn Park, E21 8AA, London, UK;

关键词: Biological Research;    Stomach Cancer;    High Mutation Rate;    Current Drop;    Modern Molecular Biology;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1476-069X-10-S1-S13

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

The prevention of the infectious diseases was accomplished long before there was any understanding of the molecular biology of bacteria and viruses. As for cancer, the sharp drop in frequency of the once-commonest lethal cancer, stomach cancer, was achieved without any contribution from biological research, and the current drop in lung cancer is the end-result of the observation by epidemiologists that most lung cancer is caused by smoking. So the basis for both these triumphs was essentially empirical and owed nothing to biological research. This paper discusses how molecular biology can now offer the possibility of large-scale protection against cancer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Cairns; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011