The History of Cancer

Here we provide an overview of how people have understood and described cancer throughout history, as well as how the treatment of cancer has evolved. Click on the topics below to get started.

• What is cancer?
• Sixteenth to eighteenth centuries
• Nineteenth century
• Cancer causes: Theories throughout history
• Cancer epidemiology
• Modern knowledge and cancer causes
• Cancer screening and early detection
• Evolution of cancer treatments: Surgery
• Evolution of cancer treatments: Hormone therapy
• Evolution of cancer treatments: Radiation
• Evolution of cancer treatments: Chemotherapy
• Evolution of cancer treatments: Immunotherapy
• Evolution of cancer treatments: Targeted therapy
• Cancer survivorship
• The twenty-first century
• References

Questions?