Are We Fighting Cancer the Right Way?
The number of cancer cases is set to rise by 70% globally over the next 20 years. Can medicine alone deal with the problem?
The World Health Organisation says the number of cancer cases will rise by 70% over the next 20 years. A huge amount of effort and money is spent fighting the disease. But are we getting that fight right? One leading oncologist, Vincent DeVita, tells us the nature of modern medical research and oversight means we are not able to benefit as much as we might from the extraordinary clinical tools we have at our disposal. Another expert witness, professor Heidi Williams from MIT, describes research which shows incentives for drug companies promote short term gains over treatments that could cure early stage cancers. Dr Christopher Wild from the WHO says it does not make sense to spend most of the cancer research budget on cures when up to 40% of cancers are preventable. And, Pekka Puska, a pioneer in the world of public health, explains how communities can make big changes and prevent many cases of lifestyle-related cancers.
(Photo: Lab Technician preparing protein, Credit: Reuters Archive)
Last on
Clip
-
Why drug firms don鈥檛 invest more in curing early stage cancer
Duration: 01:46
Broadcasts
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 02:06GMT91热爆 World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 03:06GMT91热爆 World Service UK DAB/Freeview, Online & East Asia only
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 04:06GMT91热爆 World Service South Asia
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 05:06GMT91热爆 World Service Australasia
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 07:06GMT91热爆 World Service East and Southern Africa
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 09:06GMT91热爆 World Service US Public Radio
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 13:06GMT91热爆 World Service UK DAB/Freeview & Online only
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 14:06GMT91热爆 World Service East Asia, Europe and the Middle East & South Asia only
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 17:06GMT91热爆 World Service US Public Radio
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 20:06GMT91热爆 World Service UK DAB/Freeview, Online, Europe and the Middle East & Americas and the Caribbean only
- Tue 2 Feb 2016 21:06GMT91热爆 World Service East Asia, Australasia, South Asia & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 7 Feb 2016 03:06GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet & 91热爆 World Service US Public Radio
- Sun 7 Feb 2016 11:06GMT91热爆 World Service US Public Radio
- Sun 7 Feb 2016 20:06GMT91热爆 World Service US Public Radio
Featured in...
The Best of The Inquiry
Of 100 episodes made over 2 years, these are our favourite 12 programmes
Podcast
-
The Inquiry
Getting beyond the headlines to explore the forces and ideas shaping the world