Conquering Cancer

1) Cancer is a serious disease, but when a tumor is localized, it can be removed by
surgery. Skin cancer, the most common form of the disease, can usually be
treated this way. Melanomas, the most serious form of skin cancer, can be
removed surgically, but only if spotted very early.
2) Other forms of treatment make use of the fact that cancer cells grow rapidly and,
therefore, need to copy their DNA more quickly than do most normal cells. This
makes them especially vulnerable to damage from radiation. As a result, many
tumors can be effectively treated with carefully targeted beams of radiation.
3) Medical researchers have worked for years to develop chemical compounds that
would kill cancer cells, or at least slow their growth. The use of such compounds
against cancer is known as chemotherapy. Great advances in chemotherapy have
taken place in recent years and have even made it possible to cure some forms of
cancer. However, because most chemotherapy compounds target rapidly dividing
cells, they also interfere with cell division in normal, healthy cells. This produces
serious side effects in many patients, and it is one of the reasons why scientists
are so interested in gaining a better understanding of cell cycle proteins in cancer.
The goal of many researchers is to find highly specific ways in which cancer cells
can be targeted for destruction while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
4) Understanding and combating cancer remains a major scientific challenge, but
scientists at least know where to start. Cancer is a disease of the cell cycle, and
conquering cancer will require a much deeper understanding of the processes
that control cell division.