Sidebar: Cancer Resources
![](http://images.the-scientist.com/content/figures/images/yr1996/dec/dec_art/eyer.jpg) GROWING FIELD: Cancer genetics has "blossomed in the last few years," notes American Cancer Society’s Harmon Eyre.
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"The whole field of genetic understanding of cancer has blossomed in the last few years," says Harmon Eyre, executive vice president of research and cancer control at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta. "This includes the mapping of the human genome, and the isolation of the oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes."
![](http://images.the-scientist.com/content/figures/images/yr1996/dec/dec_art/perera.jpg) PREVENTIVE EMPHASIS: Columbia’s Frederica Perera says identifying causal factors is a key to effective intervention.
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One new field that has developed in recent years is molecular epidemiology. Taking advantage of scientists' ability to peer within DNA and cells, researchers such as Frederica Perera, a professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia School of Public Health, search for biological signposts of heightened cancer risk. "We need more emphasis on preventing cancer by identifying causal factors early on to be able ...