---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cancer is a collection of many diseases…"
description: "\"Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common principles, and each disease will have to be understood and more effectively controlled on its own ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg"
---

#  Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common…

![“Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common principles, and each disease will have to be understood and more effectively controlled on its own terms.” quote by Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg)

> “Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common principles, and each disease will have to be understood and more effectively controlled on its own terms.”

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Cancer comprises many distinct diseases sharing underlying mechanisms, requiring individualized study and treatment.

**In simple terms:** Cancer is many diseases needing separate approaches.

Key Takeaway

Tailor research and therapy to each cancer type.

Themes

medicine biology personalization

Mood

analytical hopeful

Type

scientific educational

When to use this quote

- clinical trials
- genomic analysis
- patient care
- drug development

Key Concepts

oncology systems biology

Questions to Reflect On

- What strategies improve disease-specific understanding?
- How can collaboration accelerate tailored treatments?

A Different Perspective

Complex interactions make universal cures difficult.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/)

## Related quotes

> [We and other groups are seeing clear statistical links between telomere shortness and risk for a variety of diseases that are becoming very common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackburn/we-and-other-groups-are-seeing-clear-statistical-links-between/)

[Elizabeth Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackburn/)

> [The fantasies inspired by TB in the last century, by cancer now, are responses to a disease thought to be intractable and capricious--that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-fantasies-inspired-by-tb-in-the-last-century-by-cancer-now-are/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [Every society rests in the last resort on the recognition of common principles and common ideals, and if it makes no moral or spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/every-society-rests-in-the-last-resort-on-the-recognition-of-common/)

[Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/)

> [While men inhabiting different parts of this vast continent cannot be expected to hold the same opinions, they can untie in a common objective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-pierce/while-men-inhabiting-different-parts-of-this-vast-continent-cannot-be/)

[Franklin Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-pierce/)

> [America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-and-islam-are-not-exclusive-and-need-not-be-in-competition/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [In the United States, as elsewhere, there are, and have always been, two parties in politics ... It is remarkable how nearly their positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/in-the-united-states-as-elsewhere-there-are-and-have-always-been-two/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [I'm not in a position to tell anyone anything about how to live his or her life, but I think it's worth noting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-hanff-korelitz/i-m-not-in-a-position-to-tell-anyone-anything-about-how-to-live-his/)

[Jean Hanff Korelitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-hanff-korelitz/)

> [We've been paying for 100 percent of preventive care. But if you're not getting annual physicals, then you're not going to gain a financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-burd/we-ve-been-paying-for-100-percent-of-preventive-care-but-if-you-re/)

[Steven Burd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-burd/)

> [The most powerful men were those who most effectively used the power of adult competence to enforce childish agreements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-s-trow/the-most-powerful-men-were-those-who-most-effectively-used-the-power/)

[George W. S. Trow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-s-trow/)

> [Electronic medical records are, in a lot of ways, I think the aspect of technology that is going to revolutionize the way we deliver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/risa-lavizzo-mourey/electronic-medical-records-are-in-a-lot-of-ways-i-think-the-aspect-of/)

[Risa Lavizzo-Mourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/risa-lavizzo-mourey/)

> [The broken consumer credit market had to be repaired by making sure that consumers had the right information and could use it effectively. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-broken-consumer-credit-market-had-to-be-repaired-by-making-sure/)

[Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/)

> [The Savior was selfless. He viewed himself and his own needs as secondary, and he ministered to others tirelessly, lovingly, effectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-savior-was-selfless-he-viewed-himself-and-his-own-needs-as/)

[Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/)

> [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/)

Will Advise

> [No country by itself and in an isolated manner would ever be able to effectively address the challenges it faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-rouhani/no-country-by-itself-and-in-an-isolated-manner-would-ever-be-able-to/)

[Hassan Rouhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-rouhani/)

> [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/)

[Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/)

## More by Harold E. Varmus

> [As an undergraduate at Amherst College, I was devoted to Dickensian novels and antiestablishment journalism while marginally fulfilling premedical requirements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/as-an-undergraduate-at-amherst-college-i-was-devoted-to-dickensian/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [A cancer is not simply a lung cancer. It doesn't simply have a certain kind of appearance under the microscope or a certain behavior,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/a-cancer-is-not-simply-a-lung-cancer-it-doesn-t-simply-have-a-certain/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [Every cancer looks different. Every cancer has similarities to other cancers. And we're trying to milk those differences and similarities to do a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/every-cancer-looks-different-every-cancer-has-similarities-to-other/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [Tobacco, UV rays, viruses, heredity, and age are the main causes of cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/tobacco-uv-rays-viruses-heredity-and-age-are-the-main-causes-of-cancer/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-that-science-is-a-rewarding-active-process-of-discovery/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [Following graduation from Amherst, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship enabled me to test the depth of my interest in literary scholarship by beginning graduate studies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/following-graduation-from-amherst-a-woodrow-wilson-fellowship-enabled/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [From some dilatory reading in the early 1960s, I knew enough about viruses and their association with tumors in animals to understand that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/from-some-dilatory-reading-in-the-early-1960s-i-knew-enough-about/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [I keep encouraging the pharmaceutical companies to put more money into R&amp;D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-keep-encouraging-the-pharmaceutical-companies-to-put-more-money/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [Science can improve lives in ways that are elegant in design and moving in practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/science-can-improve-lives-in-ways-that-are-elegant-in-design-and/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [I begin with the premise that behavior is an incredibly important element in medicine. Peoples habits, their willingness to quit smoking, their willingness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-begin-with-the-premise-that-behavior-is-an-incredibly-important/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [Just after graduation in 1966, like many of my contemporaries, I applied for research training at the National Institutes of Health. Perhaps because his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/just-after-graduation-in-1966-like-many-of-my-contemporaries-i/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [The public schools I attended were dominated by athletics and rarely inspiring intellectually, but I enjoyed a small circle of interesting friends despite my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/the-public-schools-i-attended-were-dominated-by-athletics-and-rarely/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [My ideal summer day was reading on the porch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/my-ideal-summer-day-was-reading-on-the-porch/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [In preparation for a career in academic medicine, I worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/in-preparation-for-a-career-in-academic-medicine-i-worked-as-a/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

> [Our biggest single theme is trying to make the NIH work better with the same amount of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/our-biggest-single-theme-is-trying-to-make-the-nih-work-better-with/)

[Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

[Explore all 32 Harold E. Varmus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/)

## More Cancer quotes

> [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/)

[Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/)

> [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/)

[Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/)

> [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/)

[Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/)

> [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/)

[Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/)

> [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/)

[Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/)

> [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/)

[Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/)

> [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/)

[Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/)

> [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/)

[Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/)

> [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/)

Richard Doll

> [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/)

[Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/)

> [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/)

[Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/)

> [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/)

[Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/)

> [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/)

[David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/)

[Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common principles, and each disease will have to be understood and more effectively controlled on its own terms.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Harold E. Varmus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases-with-common-principles-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cancer"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases-with-common-principles-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/harold-e-varmus-19562_cancer_cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases_2162629.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Cancer is a collection of many diseases with common principles, and each disease will have to be understood…” — Harold E. Varmus",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Harold E. Varmus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Cancer is a collection of many...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases-with-common-principles-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/cancer-is-a-collection-of-many-diseases-with-common-principles-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
