cancer research cancer research cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. this article is about research into cancer, in general. for the uk-based charity, see cancer research uk. for the journal, see cancer research (journal).cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and compare applications of the various cancer treatments. these applications include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy and combined treatment modalities such as chemo-radiotherapy. starting in the mid-1990s, the emphasis in clinical cancer research shifted towards therapies derived from biotechnology research, such as cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy. cancer research is done in academia, research institutes, and corporate environments, and is largely government funded. history sidney farber is regarded as the father of modern chemotherapy. cancer research has been ongoing for centuries. early research focused on the causes of cancer. percivall pott identified the first environmental trigger (chimney soot) for cancer in 1775 and cigarette smoking was identified as a cause of lung cancer in 1950. early cancer treatment focused on improving surgical techniques for removing tumors. radiation therapy took hold in the 1900s. chemotherapeutics were developed and refined throughout the 20th century. the u.s. declared a "war on cancer" in the 1970s, and increased the funding and support for cancer research. seminal papers some of the most highly cited and most influential research reports include: the hallmarks of cancer, published in 2000, and hallmarks of cancer: the next generation, published in 2011, by douglas hanahan and robert weinberg. together, these articles have been cited in over 30,000 published papers. types of research cancer research encompasses a variety of types and interdisciplinary areas of research. scientists involved in cancer research may be trained in areas such as chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, medical physics, epidemiology, and biomedical engineering. research performed on a foundational level is referred to as basic research and is intended to clarify scientific principles and mechanisms. translational research aims to elucidate mechanisms of cancer development and progression and transform basic scientific findings into concepts that can be applicable to the treatment and prevention of cancer. clinical research is devoted to the development of pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, and medical technologies for the eventual treatment of patients. prevention and epidemiology epidemiologic analysis indicates that at least 35% of all cancer deaths in the world could now be avoided by primary prevention. according to a newer gbd systematic analysis, in 2019, ~44% of all cancer deaths – or ~4.5 m deaths or ~105 million lost disability-adjusted life years – were due to known clearly preventable risk factors, led by smoking, alcohol use and high bmi. however, one 2015 study suggested that between ~70% and ~90% of cancers are due to environmental factors and therefore potentially preventable. furthermore, it is estimated that with further research cancer death rates could be reduced by 70% around the world even without the development of any new therapies. cancer prevention research receives only 2 to 9% of global cancer research funding, albeit many of the options for prevention are already well-known without further cancer-specific research but are not reflected in economics and policy. mutational signatures of various cancers, for example, could reveal further causes of cancer and support causal attribution. detection further information: cancer screening