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Cancer

Cancer - One Name, Many Diseases

If cancer is 200 different diseases, why does it have one name?

This question lies at the heart of what cancer is, why some cancers are more deadly than others, why some respond better to treatment, and why two people with the same cancer and same stage of disease can respond differently to the same treatment. These questions are also at the core of controversies that arise when cancer activists lobby for one particular cancer and scientists object, saying that such action may divert funding from studies investigating questions relevant to all cancers.

The fact is, no one kind of cancer is like any other cancer; all cancers are different. Yet, all cancers are similar in terms of their fundamental underlying mechanisms.

This article originally appeared in Frontiers (Autumn 1998) a chronicle of cancer programs at The Ohio State University and was adapted for use on NetWellness with permission, 2004.

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Last Reviewed: Feb 21, 2005

The Ohio State University Darrell E. Ward, MS
Associate Director
Cancer Communications
The Ohio State University Medical Center
The Ohio State University
Darrell E. Ward, MS

The Ohio State University Robert W. Brueggemeier, PhD
Dean and Director
Comprehensive Cancer Center
College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University
Robert W. Brueggemeier, PhD

The Ohio State University Michael A. Caligiuri, MD
Director
Hematology and Oncology
Comprehensive Cancer Center
James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute
The Ohio State University
Michael A. Caligiuri, MD

The Ohio State University Reinhard A. Gahbauer, MD
Professor
James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute
The Ohio State University
Reinhard A. Gahbauer, MD

The Ohio State University Eric H. Kraut, MD
Professor
Director, Benign Hematology
James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute
Hematology and Oncology
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University
Eric H. Kraut, MD