In 1971, President Richard Nixon famously declared war on cancer, and signed into law the National Cancer Act, forecasting that cancer would be conquered by the country’s 200^th birthday, five years hence. Forty years on, however, cancer remains the number one killer for people under 85. In 2013, about 1.6 million Americans will hear the chilling phrase “you have cancer.” Worldwide, over 10 million people will die annually from cancer by 2020. These mind-numbing statistics, set to worsen as baby boomers age, spell a global healthcare disaster of enormous proportions. Unquestionably we have made limited progress and can treat some forms of the disease successfully; but for many types of cancer, and the patients who suffer, not much has changed.  Clearly, Nixon’s bold vision has not been realized: cancer has not been conquered. It’s reasonable to ask why.  Maybe we are looking at the problem the wrong way? We are beginning to perceive a decisive paradigm shift in which cancer is regarded as a complex adaptive and evolving system, demanding new ideas and disruptive innovation to ever achieve lasting breakthroughs. This new “order” will require the convergence of cancer biology and clinical oncology with the physical, engineering and computational sciences.  The challenge facing us is to implement the necessary changes in both the culture of research and clinical practice. This will not be easy!

About the speaker
As former Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Barker has an unrivalled authority to assess the strengths and weaknesses of mainstream cancer research. Now a Professor in ASU’s School of Life Sciences, she is also Director, Transformative Healthcare Networks, and Co-Director, Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative. Dr. Barker was the driving force behind the creation of 12 NCI-funded Physical Science-Oncology Centers, and is a strong proponent of bringing novel scientific insights to bear on the problem of cancer.  In 2009 she was named one of “The 100 People Changing America” by Rolling Stone Magazine.
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