GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Giant Leaps for Some Men, but Small Steps for Mankind

Jan 20, 2016 | 08:00 GMT

A Scientist looks at cells through a fluorescent microscope at the laboratories at Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute on December 9, 2014 in Cambridge, England. Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Its vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. They have saved millions of lives by discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, and as such the survival rate in the UK has doubled in the last 40 years. Cancer R

A Scientist looks at cells through a fluorescent microscope at the laboratories at Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute on December 9, 2014 in Cambridge, England. Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Its vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. They have saved millions of lives by discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, and as such the survival rate in the UK has doubled in the last 40 years. Cancer Research UK funds over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses across the UK, more than 33,000 patients who join clinical trials each year and a further 40,000 volunteers that give their time to support the work.

(DAN KITWOOD/Getty Images/Cancer Research UK)

Year after year, media reports on progress in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer leave readers with the impression that the medical field is on a never-ending winning streak in the fight against the disease. But a look at overall statistics paints a less convincing picture. And as developing countries look to replicate the successes of the developed world in their own cancer treatment centers, they should take a moment to consider whether they're setting their sights on the right target....

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