The Burrill Report (March 22, 2010): Appraising Progress in the War on Cancer (.MP3,10.21 Mb)

It’s been nearly 40 years since Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act and launched what has become known as “the war on cancer.” But since that time, despite massive investment in research, cancer has remained one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Susan Gapstur, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society, authored a commentary in the cancer-themed March 17 issue of JAMA. We talked to Gapstur about what progress has been made on the war on cancer, the tension between the high cost of new treatments and the benefits they provide, and whether or not we need a better metaphor than war for the ongoing efforts to prevent and halt the disease.