World Cancer Day Message
On this World Cancer Day, I share a reflection shaped by decades of research at the microscope and the molecular bench. Despite remarkable advances in detection, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, cancer remains one of the most complex diseases known to humankind. We have learned how to treat it, delay it, and sometimes control it—but we have not yet learned how to fully prevent or cure it across all forms.
I strongly believe that cancer will remain an incurable disease for the next few generations unless we gain a deeper, more fundamental understanding of its origin. Cancer is not a single disease; it is a dynamic evolutionary process shaped by genetics, epigenetics, the microenvironment, and time. To defeat it, we must first understand where it begins, how it evolves, and why it resists.
The future of cancer research must focus on-
-The earliest cellular events that initiate malignancy
-Tumor heterogeneity and clonal evolution
-The role of the microenvironment and immune system
-Early detection through precise molecular biomarkers
True cures will not come from treating late-stage disease alone. They will come from understanding cancer at its very roots—and intervening before it becomes unstoppable.
On this day, let us renew our commitment to science, prevention, early detection, and compassionate care for every patient and family affected by cancer.
-NP
