StatesNationalCancerInstituteshowthattheoverallrateof
cancer, even when adjusted for the increasing age of the
population, hasbeenrisingatabout 1 percent per yearfor
thirtyyears.Recentreportsofadeclineinlungcancerrates
amongyoungerAmericansmaybethefirstsignofareversal
inthistrend,sincelungcancercausesmoredeathsthanany
otherformof cancer.Iflung cancerisdeclining,however,
thiswelcomenewsisnottheresultofanyimprovementin
treatment but of
youngerpeople,especiallywhitemales,smokingless.Lung
cancersurvivalrateshavescarcelychanged.^127 Weknowthat
smokingcausesbetween 80 and 85 percentofalllungcancer
cases. We must ask ourselves: Can we justify forcing
thousandsofanimalstoinhalecigarettesmoke sothatthey
developlungcancer,whenweknowwecouldvirtuallywipe
outthediseasebyeliminatingtheuseoftobacco?Ifpeople
decidetocontinuetosmoke,knowingthatbydoingsothey
risklungcancer,isitrighttomakeanimalssufferthecostof
this decision?
Ourpoorrecordinthetreatmentoflungcancerismatchedin
cancertreatment moregenerally.Although therehavebeen
successesin treatingsome specificcancers, since 1974 the
number of people surviving for five years or more after
cancer has been diagnosed has increased by less than 1
percent.^128 Prevention,particularlythrougheducatingpeople
to lead healthier lives, is a more promising approach.
Moreand morescientistsarenowappreciating thatanimal
experimentation often actually hinders the advance of our
understanding of diseases in humans and their cure. For
example, researchers at the National Institute of
EnvironmentalHealth Sciences,inNorthCarolina, recently