The Chicago Advantage

Despite decades of intense effort, cancer researchers still have a long way to go. Improved screening and targeted therapies have improved the outlook for many cancer patients. But for many malignancies, such as lung and pancreatic cancer, overall survival rates have not improved much since Richard Nixon declared the War on Cancer in 1971.

Cancer survivor Clifton Leaf's infuential 2004 article in Fortune told us "Why We Are Losing the War on Cancer (And How to Win It)." Chief among the obstacles: a deep divide between laboratory research and the clinical experience of doctors and patients that limits innovation. Another major challenge: expanding the traditional focus on isolated molecular pathways to embrace more promising system-level investigations.

At the University of Chicago the barriers that Leaf cited are turned to advantages. We are advancing powerful new ideas in a setting that connects laboratory, clinic, and community. Discoveries forged in this integrated environment go further and have more impact. And, a major investment in systems-level biology provides a sophisticated approach that holds great potential to unravel the complexities of cancer.

Chicago has an unwavering focus on cancer research and treatment. The University of Chicago Cancer Research Center brings together more than 200 Chicago laboratory and clinical scientists. A full fourth of our faculty in medicine and the biological sciences are involved in cancer-related work. Half of our life sciences laboratory space is committed to cancer research.

University of Chicago physicians and scientists are focusing their efforts on four broad fronts: intensive prevention programs for individuals at high risk; ground-breaking technologies for early detection; development of novel therapies; and the study of metastasis; which is responsible for the vast majority of cancer deaths.