A Brief History of Oncology – From Ancient Descriptions to Modern Cures

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

• Ancient Origins: The First Recorded Encounters with Cancer
• The Renaissance and Enlightenment: A Shift to Observation
• The 19th Century: The Birth of Scientific Oncology
• The 20th Century: The Dawn of Multi-Modal Treatment
• The Molecular and Genetic Revolution
• Conclusion: An Evolving Story

The journey to understand cancer is a story of human ingenuity, perseverance, and paradigm-shifting discoveries. It’s a history spanning millennia, where ancient observations slowly gave way to scientific rigor, leading to the sophisticated field of oncology we know today. This history is not just a record of the past; it is the very foundation upon which current research and future breakthroughs are built.

In this lesson, we will trace the arc of this journey, exploring the early discoveries and major milestones in understanding cancer. From the first named descriptions to the molecular revolution, we will see how each era built upon the last, gradually peeling back the layers of this complex disease. Understanding this history provides crucial context for the principles covered in our previous lessons on the hallmarks of cancer and the normal cell cycle.

Ancient Origins: The First Recorded Encounters with Cancer

The history of oncology begins not in a modern laboratory, but in the ancient world. Evidence of cancer has been found in fossilized bones and Egyptian mummies, proving it is not a solely modern disease.

• The Edwin Smith Papyrus (c. 1600 BCE): This ancient Egyptian text, a copy of an even older treatise, contains the earliest known description of cancer. It details 48 medical cases, including eight cases of tumors or ulcers of the breast. The author coldly concludes of these breast tumors: “There is no treatment.” This reflects a helplessness that would characterize medicine’s relationship with cancer for centuries ().

• Hippocrates (460–370 BCE): The “Father of Medicine” gave cancer its name. He observed the swollen blood vessels around some tumors, which reminded him of a crab’s limbs. He thus used the Greek words karkinos (crab) and karkinoma to describe the disease. Hippocrates believed illness was caused by an imbalance of the four bodily humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile). He theorized that cancer was the result of an excess of “black bile.” This Humoral Theory would dominate medical thought for over 1,300 years.

• Galen (129–216 CE): A influential Greek physician in the Roman Empire, Galen reinforced Hippocrates’ humoral theory. He also used the word onkos (Greek for ‘mass’ or ‘burden’) to describe tumors, which is the root of our modern word oncology.

Read more:

Ancient History of Cancer — ECCT-Asia (details on Edwin Smith, Ebers papyri, Hippocrates, Galen

Cancer: We Should Not Forget The Past — PMC (Papyrus, Hippocrates, Galen, humoral theory

The Renaissance and Enlightenment: A Shift to Observation

For over a millennium, progress in understanding cancer stalled under the shadow of Galenic and Humoral theories. The Renaissance, with its emphasis on direct observation and dissection, began to change that.

• Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564): The founder of modern human anatomy, Vesalius boldly challenged Galen’s teachings. Through meticulous human dissections, he found no evidence of the hypothetical “black bile,” undermining the core theory of cancer’s cause.

• The Lymph Theory (17th-18th Centuries): With the humoral theory discredited, new ideas emerged. The dominant one proposed that cancer was caused by a fermenting and degenerating lymph, a fluid derived from blood. While incorrect, this theory shifted focus away from mystical humors and towards the body’s tangible fluids and systems.

Read more:

History of cancer — Wikipedia (covers Vesalius, Lymph Theory)​

American Cancer Society: History of Cancer

The 19th Century: The Birth of Scientific Oncology

The 19th century witnessed a series of profound discoveries that laid the groundwork for modern oncology, driven by new technologies and scientific methods.

• The Microscope and Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902): Widespread use of the microscope allowed scientists to peer into the cellular world. Rudolf Virchow, the “Father of Modern Pathology,” made the critical connection between cells and disease. He conclusively showed that cancer is a disease of cells. He observed that all cells, including cancer cells, come from other cells (omnis cellula e cellula), and that cancer cells were the body’s own cells gone rogue. This was a monumental leap forward, moving oncology from a theoretical to a cellular science.

• The Birth of Cancer Surgery: The parallel development of general anesthesia (1840s) and antiseptic surgery (1860s) transformed cancer treatment. For the first time, surgeons could perform extensive, deliberate operations to remove tumors without causing unbearable pain or certain death from infection. William Halsted’s development of the radical mastectomy for breast cancer in 1882 epitomized this new, aggressive surgical approach.

Read More:

Rudolf Virchow – Wikipedia (cell origin of cancer, ‘omnis cellula e cellula’)​

Rudolf Virchow — Wikipedia

The 20th Century: The Dawn of Multi-Modal Treatment

The 20th century was an era of explosive growth, introducing two entirely new pillars of cancer treatment and beginning to unravel its genetic causes.

• Radiation Therapy (c. 1900s): Shortly after Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895, their ability to kill rapidly dividing cells was recognized. Radiation therapy became the second major modality for treating cancer, offering a non-surgical way to control or eradicate tumors. The discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie further advanced this field (History of radiation therapy — Wikipedia; Radiation therapy — Wikipedia).

• Chemotherapy (1940s): The story of chemotherapy began during World War II. Scientists noticed that soldiers exposed to nitrogen mustard, a chemical warfare agent, had suppressed levels of white blood cells. This led to the idea that similar chemicals could be used to treat cancers of the blood and lymphatic system. The first successful remissions in lymphoma patients in the 1940s marked the birth of chemotherapy, the use of drugs to systemically treat cancer (Chemotherapy: From the Trenches of Warfare — Yale Medicine; History of cancer chemotherapy — Wikipedia).

• The “War on Cancer” (1971): U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act, launching a “War on Cancer.” This act dramatically increased funding and coordinated national cancer research efforts in the U.S., leading to the establishment of comprehensive cancer centers and a massive acceleration of basic science research (Legislative History of the National Cancer Program — NCBI Bookshelf; War on cancer – Wikipedia).

The Molecular and Genetic Revolution

The latter half of the 20th century shifted the focus from the cellular level to the molecular level, fundamentally changing our understanding of what causes cancer.

• The Discovery of Oncogenes and Tumor Suppressors (1970s-80s): Scientists discovered that certain viruses could cause cancer in animals by inserting their own genes into the host’s DNA. This led to the identification of the first human oncogenes—normal genes (proto-oncogenes) that, when mutated, promote cancer. Soon after, tumor suppressor genes (like p53) were discovered—genes that normally protect against cancer but, when inactivated, allow it to develop (American Cancer Society; PubMed). This provided the mechanistic explanation for the uncontrolled cell division we explored in Lesson 1.1.

• Targeted Therapies (2000s): Understanding the specific genetic drivers of cancer led to a new class of drugs. Targeted therapy attacks specific molecules that are crucial for a cancer cell’s growth and survival, offering a more precise and often less toxic alternative to chemotherapy. The development of imatinib (Gleevec) for chronic myeloid leukemia in 2001 was a landmark success that proved the power of this approach (History of cancer — Wikipedia).

• Immunotherapy (2010s-Present): In one of the most exciting modern developments, researchers have learned to harness the power of the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy, particularly checkpoint inhibitors, works by releasing the “brakes” on immune cells, allowing them to recognize and destroy cancer cells effectively. This represents a paradigm shift from targeting the cancer cell to targeting the immune system (History of cancer — Wikipedia).

Conclusion: An Evolving Story

The history of oncology is a testament to the progressive nature of science. Each breakthrough—from naming the disease to seeing its cells, from cutting it out to poisoning it with chemicals, and finally to targeting its genetic weak points and unleashing the immune system against it—has been built upon the work of countless dedicated individuals.

This journey from fatalism to understanding, and from rudimentary surgery to sophisticated genomic medicine, gives us hope. The major milestones of the past assure us that the future of oncology, though challenging, is bright with the promise of continued discovery. In our next lesson, we will delve into the practical application of this knowledge by exploring the Common Types and Classifications of Cancer.

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Suggested External Links for Authoritative Information:

• American Cancer Society: The History of Cancer

• National Cancer Institute: Milestones in Cancer Research and Discovery

• The Cancer History Project