First published 2021
For decades, researchers struggled with a baffling puzzle: why does the human immune system fight off colds but ignore cancer cells? Charles Graeber reveals how scientists discovered that cancer employs specific mechanisms to shut down normal immune responses. The book follows the patients, doctors, and immunotherapy researchers who transformed this knowledge into treatments that unleash the body's natural ability to recognize and destroy cancer. Graeber chronicles the competitive race among biotech and pharmaceutical companies to develop new therapies based on these findings. He shows how recent advances in cancer research and immune system science have created what many consider medicine's next major breakthrough, comparable to the discovery of penicillin. The story unfolds through the experiences of those working directly with patients and in laboratories around the world. Graeber demonstrates how these scientific advances are rapidly changing how we understand and treat cancer, moving immunotherapy from experimental medicine into standard clinical practice at an extraordinary speed.
Genres: biography, medical, non-fiction, history-of-medicine, academic, history-of-science
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: competitive-race, experimental-medicine, scientific-discovery
320 pages · Paperback · Twelve