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Asked by randomperson12345 to Sam, Jonathan, Samantha on 2 Jul 2012. This question was also asked by hphillips102, 101owen101.
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Sam Chilka answered on 2 Jul 2012:
This is a difficult one. All cancer is caused by mutations in genes which makes these genes faulty, and which cause the affected cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. I guess the only way to make cancers extinct is to prevent these mutations from happening in the first place. Some mutations are caused by things like ultraviolet light or cigarette smoke, which we can choose to avoid. But many mutations are caused by substances present naturally in our own bodies, so it’s difficult to see how these can be prevented completely. I think it’s most likely that cancer treatments will continue to improve, and fewer and fewer people will die of cancer, but it’s unlikely that we will get rid of cancer completely. But, who knows what science will help us do in the future?
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Comments
Jonathan commented on :
About a third of cancers are caused by environmental factors. But we will all die of something eventually. More people die of cancer than would otherwise because in the last century we have been very good at reducing deaths from infectious diseases. So it can happen that because are GOOD at treating some types of diseases that people will die of other diseases. But at least they will have lived longer.
Not smoking is more important than all the other things that you can do added together.
Jonathan commented on :
By the way, for most purposes it’s better to think of “cancer” as being lots of diseases with something in common, rather than being one disease. Our success at treating patients varies enormously between different types of cancer.