Saturday, August 7th, 2010
When writing a grant proposal, scientists often promote the potential of the research to improve the quality of life of the common man. And when a proposal is focused on cancer treatment, claims of some broad social benefit are generally well-received, with cancer sadly being an increasingly common part of our unhealthy lifestyles. But do we as researchers actually understand the problems that clinicians face when they begin to treat a cancer patient or even when they need to diagnose a suspected case of cancer? If we do not understand the decision-making process of the clinician, our laboratory experiments may be uninformed and misdirected. And conversely, unless clinicians are aware of ongoing research efforts and ideas, their treatment regimens will not conform to "best possible practice".