U.S. campaign to conquer cancer

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32531, 15 February 1971, Page 13

U.S. campaign to conquer cancer

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, February 14.

The United States Administration has, for the first time, made known its strategy for the conquest of cancer—a national goal that President Nixon announced in his State of the Union message, the New York Times News Service reports.

A key point is the decision to make present National Institutes of Health the prime power centre for the effort, in spite of Congressional pressure for a new, separate cancer agency.

The Administration’s strategy was made clear in a speech yesterday in Chicago by Dr Edward David, the President’s chief science adviser to the leadership of the As-

sociation of American Medical Colleges, thus taking the Administration’s case directly to the medical-scientific com-

munity. “To isolate the cancer effort would prejudice the very outcome we seek,” he said. “The problem of cancer straddles virtually all the life sciences—molecular biology biochemistry, virology, pharmacology, toxicology, genetics—any of these, or all of them, will contribute to the final solution."

In an interview earlier, he said that some Congressional resistance to the Administration’s plan was expected, but that it would not be sound

policy to set up a separate cancer agency. Dr David sees the cancer effort as a large-scale programme that will draw its talent and its bright ideas from the broadest range of the biological sciences. He ex. pects the cancer problem to be solved piece-by-piece, perhaps over a long time. The strategy, he indicated, will be to pursue heavily individual leads, and yet to preserve flexibility to attack at a new point when any advance in biomedical science suggests the time is ripe. At present, one of the areas generally considered promising is the search for proof that viruses may cause some cancers in humans. Another key area, in the view of some experts, is un-

derstanding of the Basic mechanisms by which cells, normal and abnormal, regulate their growth, their multiplication and their production of substances important to the body. OTHER BENEFITS Because its scientific range must be so broad, Dr David believes the cancer enterprise will inevitably strengthen and revitalise large areas of biomedical research and that there may be valuable dividends from the effort far removed from any of the many aspects of the huge cancer puzzle. In his State of the Union message last month and in his proposed Budget, President Nixon asked for an appropriation of an extra sB4m, of which about s27m would be spent in the next year to initiate the cancer campaign. Added to the National Cancer Institute’s appropriation request of about s2o7m this would give the total effort an appropriation of about s27om. | Until now there had been |no indication of how the money would be spent, or by I whom.

INDEPENDENCE Both in the Senate and the House there have been moves to set up an independent cancer authority. The aims are not only to get more money for cancer research, but also to give a national effort publicity prestige and a capacity for decisive action and longrange planning. Some proponents of this idea have argued that these objectives are not likely to be reached within the present Federal framework. Much of the nation’s research effort against cancer is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, which has been a major unit of the National Institutes of Health since the origin of both in the 19305. If a new agency were set up it would probably absorb the cancer institute. Proponeents believe this would free the cancer effort from many 'bureaucratic restraints.