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Oncology

Searching for the causes of cancer

 In addition to investigating the causes, researchers are motivated by one thing above all else: the search for a cure.

4min
Published on July 30, 2021

Over 19 million cases worldwide each year – and the number is rising. Some people are affected in old age, others in childhood. Whenever cancer strikes, it is a life-changing disease. Its exact origins have been the subject of research since the advent of modern medicine over 150 years ago. As well as investigating the causes, researchers are motivated by one thing above all else: the search for a cure.

Examining changes in tissue

An anomalous cell

Cancer is not “one” disease

The birth of radiotherapy

Radiation of a portio carcinoma
Following the discovery of X-rays in 1895, a medical student from Chicago noticed that radiation could destroy biological tissue. This observation quickly led to initial successes in the treatment of tumors, although medical experts were still working in the dark in many respects.

AI and new radiation qualities in the fight against cancer

CT for radiotherapy planning ENT tumor

Computed Tomography imaging for radiation therapy planning of an otolaryngologic tumor together with MR and PET-imaging. (Courtesy of University Hospital Erlangen, Germany)

Display of a CT scan using Cinematic Rendering. While the CT scan the systems intelligently adapts to the patients breathing pattern in real time to reduce image artifacts that can occur during natural respiratory motion. The tumor was depicted in yellow. (Courtesy of University Hospital Groningen, Netherlands)

History of X-ray technology and the early days of cancer therapy