Rosenberg, Steven A. 1940

CANCER RESEARCHER

A Headline-Making Discovery.

Science has two principal stages of discovery. First is the dramatic, headline-making, often controversial revelation of an important new or preliminary discovery, In 1985 National Cancer Institute (NCI) surgeon Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg stirred national attention when he reported that eleven of twenty-five cancer patients improved dramatically after treatments involving interleukin-2 (IL-2), a genetically engineered hormone. This "adoptive immunotherapy" activated the body's natural immune system of white blood cells to fight cancerous tumors. The second stage of scientific discovery comes after more extensive clinical testing justifies the earlier excitement.

A Cancer Breakthrough?

In 1985 cancer killed 462,000 Americans. The American public took its first notice of Rosenberg in July 1985 when the NCI specialist announced, "The President has cancer." As a member...

[The entire page is 888 words long]

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