Editorial “change is often desirable, frequently necessary, always inevitable”
✍ Scribed by Goepfert, Helmuth
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 2006
- Weight
- 79 KB
- Volume
- 8
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0148-6403
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Change is Often Desirable, Frequently Necessary, Always I nevi ta ble"
T h e opening quote somewhat reflects my feelings on the "state of the art" of head and neck cancer management. We are daily plagued by frustrations over less than ideal-and certainly far from perfect-treatment results in oncology. Such frustrations challenge many to search for better means of treatment through the inquisition of nature's secrets. "Natura non facit saltus" was ascribed to Carl von Linne (1751), who attempted to unravel the steps and leaps of the evolutionary process. The same may be said of the manner in which the biology of the neoplastic process is unveiled to the scientist. It is a slow and painstaking revelation. On the one hand, research is exciting and stimulating; on the other, it is a laborious task. Every step forward is gained by meticulous and diligent work and varying amounts of elbow grease and sweat. Often forgotten and seldom mentioned are the numerous blind alleys followed, and the false leads pursued. Let us not forget the furor in the late 60s and early 70s over what was heralded as "immunotherapy" for head and neck cancer. The preposterousness of our therapeutic attempts soon became obvious and scientists retreated to the bench to plan new assaults.