Peyton Rous opened his Nobel lecture of 1966 with the following passage: Tumors destroy man in a unique and appalling way, as flesh of his own flesh which has somehow been rendered proliferative, rampant, predatory and ungovernable. [Tumors] are the most concrete and formidable of human maladies, yet despite more than 70 years of experimental study they remain the least understood . . . . What can be the for these happenings? We now believe that we know the why for these happenings, and it takes a remarkable form. Two sorts of genes govern the proliferation of our cells: proto-oncogenes, which serve as accelerators to activate the genes of the cell; and tumor suppressor genes, which serve as brakes to retard the growth of cells. Jam an accelerator or remove a brake, and the cell may be unleashed to relentless proliferation. Starting with this simple image, we are now on the verge of a detailed portrait of cancer cells, of how they arise, of how they prosper, of what new might be done against them. My purpose here is to trace the historical roots of his image, to show how the intellectual edifice that now houses cancer research was constructed. My strategy will be to explore five major themes that have converged to give us that edifice. It is a story rich with humanity and with lessons on how science proceeds.
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J. Michael Bishop (1995) studied this question.