Kenneth Endicott, the first director of the National Cancer Institute's chemotherapy research program, predicted after the rapid growth of the program in the mid-1950s that "the next step--the complete cure--is almost sure to follow." By the 1980s, scientists had found about thirty drugs for treating human cancers, especially in children. Nevertheless, a "cure" proved elusive because too little was known about the basic biology of cancer to make targeted research into therapies fruitful. New discoveries about the genetic origins of cancer during the 1970s came from basic research in cancer virology, an area that had received only modest funding compared to chemotherapy.
Number of Image Pages:
1 (86,699 Bytes)
Date:
1962-06-28 (June 28, 1962)
Creator:
Endicott, Kenneth M.
National Cancer Institute
Recipient:
Lasker, Mary
Source:
Original Repository: Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Mary Lasker Papers
Rights:
This item is in the public domain. It may be used without permission.
