In Taming Cancer, a biochemist and immunologist with 35 years of experience developing innovative cancer drugs presents an exhilarating vision of the future of cancer medicine, a time when a diagnosis of metastatic cancer is no longer by default a harbinger of a painful and imminent death. Even today, seemingly magical medicines that attack cancer at its molecular roots and unleash the tumor-destroying power of human immunity are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families, improving both the duration and quality of life for those fortunate enough to benefit from them. For the most responsive patients, this targeted therapeutic approach, which uses genetically engineered proteins, cells, and viruses, has the potential to prevent the re-emergence of cancer for decades, and perhaps even achieve the "Holy Grail" of cancer treatment: the lifelong prevention of recurrence—the long-sought cure for cancer.
Taming Cancer is a fascinating voyage spanning two centuries of scientific discovery that transports the reader into the mysterious realm of the human cancer cell. Written for readers interested in developing a conceptual understanding of cancer and what can be done to confront it, the book also contains extensive endnotes for those who wish to delve deeper into the science. Taming Cancer sends a message of hope to cancer patients and their families that will enable the reader to appreciate the marvels of 21st-century biology and its potential to alleviate the human suffering wrought by the most complex and malicious of human maladies.
“Cancer is, at its core, a disease of the genome,” Kelner writes, explaining with clarity and precision what is now known about how, why, and when cancer forms and spreads—and why sometimes immune systems stop it and other times don’t. He introduces a host of scientists, researchers, and physicians who, over centuries, have given us the foundation to begin to comprehend this “this malicious malady inherent to our biology,” describing their research and discoveries in crisp precises that readers familiar with entry-level biological and genetic sciences will be able to follow.
Throughout, Kelner demonstrates a keen facility for the clarifying metaphor. One passage opens “To envision what is happening at the level of our DNA, think of the world’s busiest airports,” and then deftly works the comparison for pages. Some early sections would benefit from more of that kind of context, but as Taming Cancer’s history catches up to the present and topics like the “astounding therapeutic potential of the human T cell,” Kelner proves a welcoming guide whose optimism is infectious. This book bursts with good news.
Takeaway: A close-up look at good news about the science and treatment of cancer.
Comparable Titles: Michael Kinch’s The End of the Beginning, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
