Two Hundred Years of Cancer Research

The fruits of long endeavors – 200 years of oncology

“…4 Use of anesthesia by John Collins Warren 1864 and the introduction of antisepsis by Joseph Lister in 1867 7 led to such an explosion in the field of cancer surgery that the next hundred years were rightly dubbed as "the century of the surgeons".…”

“…As Morgagni had linked autopsy findings seen with the unaided eye with the clinical course of illness, so did Virchow by correlating microscopic pathology to illness. 4 Paget, in 1889 wisely mused about the seed-and-soil hypothesis of metastatic disease, a theory that is coming into its own today. 5 The discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953 and eight years later, the genetic code broken by Nirenberg and colleagues, establishing the central dogma of biology; that information was transmitted from DNA to RNA and resulted in the synthesis of proteins.…”

“…5 The discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953 and eight years later, the genetic code broken by Nirenberg and colleagues, establishing the central dogma of biology; that information was transmitted from DNA to RNA and resulted in the synthesis of proteins. 3,4 The discovery of reverse transcriptase by Temin and Mizutani and Baltimore, which showed that information could be transmitted the other way, from RNA to DNA was a twist in the tale which had a profound influence on cancer medicine. 2,4 In 1970, Smith and Wilcox identified enzymes that bacteria used defensively to cleave DNA at specific restriction sites.…”

“…3,4 The discovery of reverse transcriptase by Temin and Mizutani and Baltimore, which showed that information could be transmitted the other way, from RNA to DNA was a twist in the tale which had a profound influence on cancer medicine. 2,4 In 1970, Smith and Wilcox identified enzymes that bacteria used defensively to cleave DNA at specific restriction sites. 4 These discoveries gave birth to the molecular revolution and the biotechnology industry.…”

“…2,4 In 1970, Smith and Wilcox identified enzymes that bacteria used defensively to cleave DNA at specific restriction sites. 4 These discoveries gave birth to the molecular revolution and the biotechnology industry. They also paved the way for the sequencing of the genome.…”