title: Cancer research, a field on the verge of a paradigm shift?
abstract: The theoretical framework for the field of cancer research is based on two main principles. The first is that cancer advances in a stepwise manner, with each alteration driving cells further toward a malignant state. Second, to cure cancer we must target only cancer-specific properties. Here, we analyze the birth and propagation of the cancer research paradigm. We believe the current paradigm is immersed in crisis and that the field would benefit from integrating theories within and outside the normal modes of research to compile a new framework, with the hope of faster progress and significantly fewer cancer-related deaths.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ido.goldshtein@weizmann.ac.il
authors.forename: Ido
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Shalom
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madar
authors.forename: Varda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rotter
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends*