Book ID: CBB284978916

Cancer Virus Hunters: A History of Tumor Virology (2022)

unapi

Morgan, Gregory J. (Author)


Johns Hopkins University Press


Publication Date: 2022
Physical Details: 392
Language: English

Worldwide, approximately one-fifth of human cancers are caused by tumor viruses, with hepatitis B virus and HPV being the leading culprits. While the explosive growth in molecular biology in the late twentieth century is well known, the role that the study of tumor viruses has played in driving many of the greatest breakthroughs is not. Without the insights gained by studying tumor viruses, many significant theoretical advancements over the last four decades in cellular and molecular biology would not have been made. More practically, the study of tumor viruses has saved thousands, if not millions, of lives. In Cancer Virus Hunters, Gregory J. Morgan traces the high points in the development of tumor virology, from Peyton Rous's pioneering work on chicken tumors in 1909 to the successful development of an HPV vaccine for cervical cancer in 2006. Morgan offers a novel approach to understanding the interconnectedness of a long series of biomedical breakthroughs, including those that led to seven Nobel prizes. Among other advances, Morgan describes and contextualizes the science that prompted the discoveries of reverse transcriptase, RNA splicing, the tumor suppressor p53, the vaccine for hepatitis B, and the HIV test. He also explores how "cancer virus hunters" have demonstrated the virtue of beginning with a simple system, even when investigating a complex disease like cancer. Based on extensive archival research and over fifty interviews with experts, Cancer Virus Hunters is a tour de force summarizing a century of research to show how discoveries made with tumor viruses came to dominate the contemporary understanding of cancer. By showcasing the scientists themselves, the book makes for an unusually accessible journey through the history of science. It will be of interest to biomedical professionals―especially in oncology, hepatology, and infectious disease―in addition to historians of science and anyone interested in cancer research.

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Reviewed By

Review Erling Norrby (2023) Review of "Cancer Virus Hunters: A History of Tumor Virology". Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (pp. 39-41). unapi

Review Karen-Beth G. Scholthof (2023) Review of "Cancer Virus Hunters: A History of Tumor Virology". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 459-460). unapi

Review Bill Sugden (2023) Review of "Cancer Virus Hunters: A History of Tumor Virology". Journal of the History of Biology (pp. 201-203). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB284978916/

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Authors & Contributors
Sankaran, Neeraja
Gallazzi, Matteo
Tosetti, Francesca
Fantuzzi, Giamila
Peter F. Daly
Rizzi, Manuela
Concepts
Cancer; tumors
Virology
Oncology
Medicine
Molecular biology
Cellular biology
Time Periods
20th century
21st century
20th century, late
19th century
20th century, early
Places
United States
Egypt
Great Britain
Africa
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