Reliable measurement of internal bodily substances and structures is one of the cornerstones of modern medicine. Progress in cancer medicine, like that in many medical fields, must encompass and take advantage of progress in the physical sciences. Historically, the development and refinement of physical sciences-based detection of biological entities precedes periods of great advancements in therapies. To treat broken limbs and arthritis, we are indebted to Conrad Roentgen's discovery of x-rays by which we can evaluate the bones; to apply gamma knife therapy for cancer, we are indebted to Marie Curie's discoveries about radioactivity by which we can eradicate tumors; to manage the complications of diabetes, we are indebted to Tom Clemens, Ames Pharmaceuticals and Dick Bernstein's refinement of direct blood glucose measurement technology by which we can count, hour-to-hour, the waxing and waning of blood sugar levels; to understand anything at all on the cellular level, we are indebted to Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's microscope, by which we can see our cells. The application of physical sciences perspectives to biological and medical problems has a long and productive history. As of late, however, the increasing compartmentalization of science and exponential increases of knowledge in both arenas has resulted in a rift between the two. The NCI has initiated a research network establishing multiple centers of investigation, the Physical Sciences in Oncology Centers (http://physics.cancer.gov), which seek to mend the rift. Each headed by a pair of investigators, one in the physical sciences and one in the biological sciences, the centers seek to bring the advances and breakthroughs of the physical sciences world to bear on the question of cancer.
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Kühn et al. (2012) studied this question.