Synopses & Reviews
In 1950, a diagnosis of cancer was all but a death sentence. Mortality rates only got worse, and as late as 1986, an article in
the New England Journal of Medicine lamented: and#147;We are losing the war against cancer.and#8221; Cancer is one of humankindand#8217;s oldest and most persistent enemies; it has been called the existential disease.
But we are now entering a new, and more positive, phase in this long campaign. While cancer has not been curedand#151;and a cure may elude us for a long time yetand#151;there has been a revolution in our understanding of its nature. Years of brilliant science have revealed how this individualistic disease seizes control of the foundations of lifeand#151;our genesand#151;and produces guerrilla cells that can attack and elude treatments. Armed with those insights, scientists have been developing more effective weapons and producing better outcomes for patients. Paul A. Marks, MD, has been a leader in these efforts to finally control this devastating disease.
Marks helped establish the strategy for the and#147;war on cancerand#8221; in 1971 as a researcher and member of President Nixonand#8217;s cancer panel. As the president and chief executive officer for nineteen years at the worldand#8217;s pre-eminent cancer hospital, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, he was instrumental in ending the years of futility. He also developed better therapies that promise a new era of cancer containment. Some cancers, like childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkinand#8217;s lymphoma, that were once deadly conditions, are now survivableand#151;even curable. New steps in prevention and early diagnosis are giving patients even more hope. On the Cancer Frontier is Marksand#8217; account of the transformation in our understanding of cancer and why there is growing optimism in our ability to stop it.
Review
In this boldly presented argument, written with the assistance of Wall Street Journal senior business writer Sterngold, Marks passionately explains how best to pursue a course of action to control cancers tenacity. Cancer is protean, individualistic, complex, elusive and efficient
On a level with Lewis Thomas for its clarity and verve in presenting the science of the cell and the ability of cancer to assume multiple guises.” —
Kirkus starred reviewReview
and#147;In this boldly presented argument, written with the assistance of Wall Street Journal senior business writer Sterngold, Marks passionately explains how best to pursue a course of action to control cancerand#8217;s tenacity. Cancer is protean, individualistic, complex, elusive and efficientand#133; On a level with Lewis Thomas for its clarity and verve in presenting the science of the cell and the ability of cancer to assume multiple guises.and#8221; and#151;
Kirkus starred reviewand#147;It is the story behind the science that makes this book a compelling read, even for non-boffins, who can rely on good metaphors to decipher the jargon... Dr Marksand#8217;s fascinating journey through the world of cancer research.and#8221;and#151;The Economist
and#147;This well-written, often dramatic book about the nationand#8217;s second-largest killer is a cross between memoir and cancer history bookand#133; A good addition to the growing number of engaging titles about this disease.and#8221;and#151;Booklist
Synopsis
Paul Marks M.D., President Emeritus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Hospital, attributes the elusive nature of cancers cure to its inherently anarchic processes. There can be no hope for a miracle cure when defective cells use a myriad of tools to succeed in their relentless assaults. There are many ways cancers get started, and turn healthy cell division and growth into lethal attacks. Cancer cells and their abnormal genes are inherently unstable and so, are able to fight off anything that gets in their wayoften a prescribed drug.
In 1950 the discovery of cancer was all but a death sentence. By 1980, 214 of every 100,000 Americans died from cancer. As late as 1986, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed the less-than-optimistic outlook cancer research, publishing the condemning sentence: we are losing the war against cancer.” In fact, though cancer had not been eliminated, it had begun to be identified for what it is. A highly individualistic disease, variablea guerrilla cell rather than a marching army. Suddenly science learned how to fight the right warat ever closer quarters. And at the forefront of the momentous chain of discoveries was Paul Marks.
Chronicling the insights of researchers and doctors around the world and the momentous effects of their pains-taking advancesMarks weaves together the humbling account of how and what we learned about the mechanisms of malignant and abnormal cells that make up every one of us.
About the Author
Paul Marks, MD, as president and chief executive officer, led Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for nineteen years, beginning in 1980. Dr. Marks received his AB and MD degrees from Columbia University and postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and the Pasteur Institute. Prior to his tenure at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, he was professor of human genetics and Frode Jensen Professor of Medicine (19681980), dean of the faculty of medicine (19701973), and vice president for health sciences and director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center (19731980) at Columbia University. Dr. Marks is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and is a fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Memorial Sloan-Kettering has established the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, given every year to up to three young leaders in cancer research to encourage a new generation of investigators. He has been a recipient of numerous honors. He has published more than 350 scientific articles in various scholarly journals. He lives in New York City.
James Sterngold is a senior special writer for the Wall Street Journal, where he does investigations on finance and business. Jim previously spent twenty years at the New York Times, as a domestic and foreign correspondent in Japan. He won eight Publishers Awards and shared in a Pulitzer, awarded to the Times staff for coverage of 9/11. He has also written for Fortune, Bloomberg Businessweek, Mother Jones and SmartMoney magazines, and won the Foreign Press Associations Best Magazine Financial Article of 2010 award and the Magazine Personal Service Award from the Deadline Club in 2012. He lives in New York City.