Advances in cancer research have grown exponentially in recent decades. What we now know about the disease owes a lot to breakthroughs in science and technology. Cancer researchers have had to solve increasingly difficult problems with methods that were unimaginable just a few years ago, and new generations of researchers have to be trained to face these challenges.

One important aspect of their training is the framing of social, economic and cultural changes of the human population. Despite having state-of-the-art technology and specializations, researchers are still required to think faster than ever before, making new discoveries fit the practical situation of each type of cancer. This book discusses a number of topics that address these challenges and the origins of cancer research from a cultural and historical perspective.