Tthe Secretary of State for Health (Mr Alan Milburn) was setting out details
of the Government’s national cancer plans, part of the Health Service national
plan for England, as The Journal went to press. An important part of the cancer
plan is an increase in investment in cancer research so that, for the first
time, Government investment will match investment by cancer charities.
Areas of research that could benefit from increased investment were made obvious
recently by speakers at two British Pharmaceutical Conference science symposia
(see pp486-491). The genetic revolution has allowed researchers to identify
new targets for anticancer drugs, while advances in molecular biology have paved
the way for the development of novel, specific drugs to attack these new targets.
With an increased investment in research, there is every reason to expect major
advances in the drug treatment of cancer in the near future.