Forum Question: What are we missing in our 50-year quest to fundamentally understand and control cancer?

Cancer is complex. It is a complex adaptive system, but is it irreducibly complex? If not, what are we missing that could enable progress?

In the upcoming conversation, our experts will explore this question and provide their insights on several fronts:

• How can we apply what we know – and use current data, especially patient data (e.g., real world data) – to identify cancer earlier and treat it more effectively?
• How much data is enough data – is more information always helpful in the context of a complex system?
• Will the current paradigm of identifying and studying the “parts of cancer” lead to this fundamental understanding we seek – and revolutionize the field?
• It could be argued that aspects of physics and mathematics, cancer evolution, and the application of theory to convert data to usable information should be in the mainstream of cancer research. Are these key missing pieces that matter to patients?