Cancer is a term used to describe a group of diseases characterized by abnormal cell proliferation that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. When genetic changes disrupt this normal mechanism, cancer develops. Cells begin to proliferate at an uncontrollable rate. A malignant tumor is a tumor that can grow and spread to other areas of the body. The term "benign tumor" refers to a tumor that may grow but not spread.
We must challenge ourselves to approach cancer research differently to discover the next wave of therapies that will fight cancer in ways that were before uncertain. Toxicology is the branch of science that studies how chemicals interact with the body and cause harmful effects. Toxicology plays an important role in cancer research, beginning with drug development and continuing through important clinical trial design considerations. Toxicologists working early in the discovery process are collaborators in the search for one of the thousands of molecules that could offer patients hope. Another toxicologist's work might just focus on analyzing a specific candidate molecule later in the process, with the goal of determining how an experimental drug could be delivered to a patient.