Cure for cancer: nearer than we thought?
The cure, experts say, may not lie entirely with treatment but instead with prevention.

WASHINGTON- In a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning July 13th, Friends of Cancer Research, a non-profit headquartered in the District, hosted a panel discussion by some of the nation's foremost cancer experts.  Focusing on strategies related to prevention and early detection, the diverse group of panelists consisted of senior federal and private sector physicians, administrators, researchers, and members of the media.  Introductory speaker, Bo Alidge, President of the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation set the stage with a call for a paradigm shift in the public's attitude toward cancer.

The group repeatedly asserted that rather than counting on 'magic bullet drugs' to cure established disease, the shortest and most effective path to the National Cancer Institute's stated goal of eliminating death and suffering due to cancer by 2015 might be to avoid the disease in the first place, or to treat it 'presumptively' before it is even diagnosed.  Panelist Dr. Michael Sporn, a 30 year veteran of the war on cancer, and a pioneer in cancer prevention, said his highest goal in regards to public education, is to get people to understand that cancer is not only a disease at the specific point of diagnosis, it is a chronic process which exists for years before it is detected.  The entire panel supported Dr. Sporn's message, that significant disease precedes symptoms for years, and is vastly more curable than advanced disease.  Dr. Homer Pierce, who has devoted decades to the development of cancer fighting drugs, and is currently a distinguished research fellow for leading pharmaceutical Eli Lilly and Company suggested “We must acknowledge that at any give moment, we all probably have at least a couple of cells in our bodies that are cancerous, and that rather than responding in fear, we should be motivated to do what we must to prevent them from developing into the disease we commonly call cancer.”

Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC), a cancer survivor herself, was a special guest at the forum, and emphasized the importance of identifying useful "protein marker" tests as a tool for early detection.  Fortune Magazine editor Clifton Leaf, also a cancer survivor, seconded Myrick’s call for the development of biomarkers and other modes of risk assessment and early detection.  Asserting that too many anti-cancer dollars are devoted to treatment of advanced and often incurable disease, Leaf suggested they should instead be focused on preventing or promptly detecting the cancers that will otherwise strike one out of every two men, and one out of every three women.

Dr. Anna Barker, Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute, provided details on cutting edge science, such as nanotechnology and micro-imaging, which will “translate into cures" through collaboration between the Institute, the FDA, pharmaceutical companies, and others involved in the effort.  Dr. Rick Pazdur, Director of the FDA’s oncology division, cautioned that the FDA could not prop up 'shaky science,' no matter how promising the treatment, citing the Agency's role in balancing risk against benefit. 

Moderated by Susan Denzter, of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, the panel also debated the value of intellectual property rights, which provide patent protection, allowing drug companies to ultimately recoup the enormous costs of new drug discovery, development, testing, and approval.  During an impassioned response by Mr. Leaf to questions late in the forum, the tendency of the media to gravitate towards sensation instead of education was addressed.