New Answers for Cancer (September 2012)
Special Editions

Cover; New Answers for Cancer; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; New Answers for Cancer; by Staff Editor; 3 Page(s)

Letter From the Editor; New Answers for Cancer; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Finding Enemy Forces; Destroying the Targets; Hope in the Trenches
Mariette DiChristina is editor in chief of Scientific American.

Living with Cancer; New Answers for Cancer; by Lisa Stein; 8 Page(s)

Keep up your spirits and tap available resources to make the disease manageable
Lisa Stein is the former online news editor for Scientific American.

Evolved for Cancer?; New Answers for Cancer; by Carl Zimmer; 8 Page(s)

Natural selection lacks the power to erase cancer from our species and, some scientists argue, may even have provided tools that help tumors grow
Carl Zimmer writes frequently about evolution for the New York Times, National Geographic and other publications. He is author of 12 books, including Parasite Rex and Soul Made Flesh. His latest book is Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed (Sterling, 2011). His blog, The Loom (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom), is a winner of Scientific American's Science and Technology Web Awards.

Mapping the Cancer Genome; New Answers for Cancer; by Francis S. Collins and Anna D. Barker; 8 Page(s)

Pinpointing the genes involved in cancer will help chart a new course across the complex landscape of human malignancies
Francis S. Collins and Anna D. Barker were leaders of the Cancer Genome Atlas initiative in their positions as, respectively, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and deputy director for Advanced Technologies and Strategic Partnerships at the National Cancer Institute. Collins led the Human Genome Project to its completion of the human DNA sequence, and in 2009 he was appointed director of the National Institutes of Health. Barker has headed drug development and biotechnology research efforts in the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on fighting cancer.

Untangling the Roots of Cancer; New Answers for Cancer; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 10 Page(s)

Recent evidence challenges long-held theories of how cells turn malignantand suggests new ways to stop tumors before they spread
W. Wayt Gibbs, a frequent contributor to Scientific American, is executive editor at Intellectual Ventures in Bellevue, Wash. He was editor in chief of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, published by The Cooking Lab (March 2011).

Stem Cells: The Real Culprits in Cancer?; New Answers for Cancer; by Michael F. Clarke and Michael W. Becker; 8 Page(s)

A dark side of stem cells—their potential to turn malignant—is at the root of a handful of cancers and may be the cause of many more. Eliminating the disease could depend on tracking down and destroying these elusive killer cells
Michael F. Clarke and Michael W. Becker worked together in Clarke's laboratory at the University of Michigan, where breast tumor stem cells were first isolated in 2003. Clarke is now associate director and professor of cancer biology and of medicine at the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. He continues to work on identifying cancer stem cells and the mechanisms by which they, as well as normal stem cells, regenerate. Becker is assistant professor of medicine in the hematology and oncology division of the University of Rochester Medical Center. Becker's research focus is on characterizing leukemic stem cells, and his clinical work centers on peripheral blood and bone marrow transplantation.

A Malignant Flame; New Answers for Cancer; by Gary Stix; 8 Page(s)

Understanding chronic inflammation, which contributes to heart disease, Alzheimer's and a variety of other ailments, may be a key to unlocking the mysteries of cancer
Gary Stix is a senior editor for Scientific American.

The Long Arm of the Immune System; New Answers for Cancer; by Jacques Banchereau; 8 Page(s)

Dendritic cells catch invaders and tell the immune system when and how to respond. Vaccines depend on them, and scientists are even employing the cells to stir up immunity against cancer
Jacques Banchereau has directed the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research in Dallas since 1996. The institute aims to manipulate the human immune system to treat cancer as well as infectious and autoimmune diseases. Before 1996 Banchereau led the Schering-Plough Laboratory for Immunology Research in Dardilly, France. He obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Paris and holds many patents on immunological techniques.

Taming Vessels to Treat Cancer; New Answers for Cancer; by Rakesh K. Jain; 8 Page(s)

Restoring order to the chaotic blood vessels inside a tumor opens a window of opportunity for attacking it. Surprisingly, drugs meant to destroy vasculature can make the repair and may help reverse conditions that lead to cardiovascular disease and blindness
Rakesh K. Jain is Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Tumor Biology and director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology in the radiation oncology department at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. His research incorporates biology, imaging, engineering and mathematics in the study of blood and lymphatic vessels and their tissue environment, as well as the adaptation of basic findings to patient treatment. He would especially like to acknowledge the National Cancer Institute for continuous support of his work since 1980 and more than 200 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and collaborators worldwide who have shared his journey into the world of solid tumors. Jain also serves as an adviser to several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

Tumor-Busting Viruses; New Answers for Cancer; by Dirk M. Nettelbeck, Ronald D. Alvarez and David T. Curiel; 8 Page(s)

A technique called virotherapy harnesses viruses, those banes of humankind, to stop another scourge—cancer
Dirk M. Nettelbeck heads a research group focusing on virotherapy at the German Cancer Research Center and at Heidelberg University Hospital. He was a molecular biologist and postdoctoral fellow of the German Research Association at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (U.A.B.) from 2000 to 2003. He received his Ph.D. in 2000 from Philipps University in Marburg, Germany. Ronald D. Alvarez is professor in and director of the division of gynecologic oncology at U.A.B. He received his M.D. from Louisiana State University in 1983. He has extensive experience in translational gene therapy research for ovarian cancer. David T. Curiel, who holds an M.D. and a Ph.D., is director of the cancer biology division of the department of radiation oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is on the board of DNAtrix, a Texas-based biotechnology company that is developing virus technology for cancer treatment.

New Light on Medicine; New Answers for Cancer; by Nick Lane; 8 Page(s)

Pigments that turn caustic on exposure to light can fight cancer, blindness and heart disease. Their light-induced toxicity may also help explain the origin of vampire tales
Nick Lane studied biochemistry at Imperial College, University of London. At the Royal Free Hospital, his doctoral research concentrated on oxygen free radicals and metabolic function in organ transplants. Lane is an honorary reader at University College London and a regular contributor to Nature. His books include Oxygen: The Molecule That Made the World and Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life.

Gaining Ground on Breast Cancer; New Answers for Cancer; by Francisco J. Esteva and Gabriel N. Hortobagyi; 8 Page(s)

The newest targeted therapies are helping doctors to tailor increasingly effective treatments to individual patients
Francisco J. Esteva is director of the Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, where Gabriel N. Hortobagyi is director of the Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Research Program. Esteva, an associate professor in the departments of breast medical oncology and molecular and cellular oncology, focuses on bridging the gap between basic research and patient treatment. Hortobagyi, a recent president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, is also chair of and a professor in the department of breast medical oncology. His research spans all aspects of breast cancer biology, management and therapeutics and has earned numerous awards.