• Question: Why is there no cure for cancer yet?

    Asked by naimasultana123 to Anna, Chris, Jane, Iain, Nick on 7 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Anna Middleton

      Anna Middleton answered on 7 Mar 2014:

      @naimasultana123
      Great question. There’s no cure for cancer yet because it is so complex and so many different molecular processes are involved. The genetic basis of cancer is being unpicked all the time but we are just not there yet in being able to offer a cure for all. There is SOOOO much research being done in this area and personally I feel hopeful that genetic research will lead us to better treatments and preventative measures in the near future.

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 8 Mar 2014:

      Hi. This is a very good question, and there are different answers depending on how you approach it.

      Firstly, cancer isn’t one illness, but actually over 100 different illnesses which have some things in common to one another. It is very unlikely that there will be a “magic” cure that cures all of them. Instead, we will see different treatments coming over time, which will improve certain types of cancer. In fact, this is already happening. For testicular cancer, for instance, the medicines are so good that they can cure 96% of people who get it.

      The second way I can answer your question is like this. Imagine you are trying to find a cure for a bacterial infection. What you need to do is find a drug that will kill the bacteria cells but not the human cells. That isn’t so difficult, because humans and bacteria cells are very different. With cancer, it is different, because cancer cells ARE human cells that go wrong, so it tends to be that anything that kills cancer cells also kill human cells, which is why chemotherapy has some nasty side-effects.

    • Photo: Chris Cole

      Chris Cole answered on 8 Mar 2014:

      Anna and Iain have already answered this question really well.

      The only other point to make is that most cancer is caused by damaged DNA in cells and as you get older it’s more likely that you will have some damaged cells. In many ways cancer is a disease of old age so as people live longer cancer will continue to be a disease that needs treating.

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