A History of Cancer Chemotherapy
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative historical review without primary empirical data or systematic search methodology.
OpenAlex W2147328441 · doi:10.1158/0008-5472.can-07-6611
What was done
A historical review tracing the evolution of cancer chemotherapy from early 20th-century rodent tumor screening and World War II drug development programs to the 1955 founding of the Cancer Chemotherapy National Service Center and modern molecularly targeted therapies.
What was found
The abstract reports historical developments without quantitative data. It notes that combination chemotherapy achieved cures in acute childhood leukemia and advanced Hodgkin's disease during the 1960s and early 1970s, which overcame skepticism regarding systemic cancer treatment and supported the development of adjuvant therapy.
Why it matters
It outlines how early screening and combination regimens established systemic therapy as a viable, curative modality in oncology, laying the groundwork for contemporary targeted drug discovery.
Limits
This is a narrative historical account rather than a systematic review or empirical clinical trial. The abstract provides no quantitative data, patient numbers, or statistical analyses.
Cited by
- contradicts Prior to 1960, the US government did not consider cancer a disease, but regarded it as a consequence of aging.