Newsweek - Access Health: Cancer Research's Golden Age Is On Shaky Ground

Today is May 1, the first day of National Cancer Research Month. For this special edition of Access Health, I connected with some of the nation's leading oncology experts and asked them to take us into their world.

I found good news and bad news on this foray. I'll start with the good news.

There's an undeniable excitement in the field of cancer research right now. In some of my conversations, that excitement transcended into giddiness. Scientists who have dedicated their careers to this work are calling the current moment a "golden age," "something we've only dreamed of," "science-fiction" brought to life.

This year provides unrivaled conditions for cancer research, as our deepening understanding of the disease coincides with the rising capabilities of AI. But certain headwinds are threatening that hard-earned progress, according to Dr. Karen Knudsen, CEO of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and former CEO of the American Cancer Society.

Knudsen called me April 7 from the Parker Institute's annual retreat, which brings together scientists and venture capitalists from around the world to analyze advancements in the field and translate them into patient testing and company formation. She, too, described a whirlwind of excitement as "brilliant discoveries" are being made.

But she also described a rising sense of urgency in the field to ensure that these discoveries aren't lost.

"The science is growing at this incredibly strong pace," Knudsen said, "but the market's not been ready to accept this number of discoveries and get them the capitalization that's needed in order to get clinical trials up on the ground."