Why Integrity Matters
- Advancements and Challenges in Healthcare and Science: Over the past 200 years, there have been significant advancements in healthcare and science, increasing life expectancy. However, challenges in cancer treatment persist, with high incidence and mortality rates.
- Cancer Incidence and Mortality: Cancer incidence is rising globally, with significant increases expected in colorectal, breast, lung, and prostate cancers by 2070. Overall cancer mortality has not substantially decreased, which explains, that so far the wrong approach was used.
- Focus on Quantity Over Quality: The trend of prioritizing quantity over quality in healthcare and science has compromised the integrity of these fields, leading to increased costs and minimal improvements in patient outcomes.
- Impact of Commercialization: The commercialization and focus on quantity affect scientific publishing, resulting in a significant increase in the number of published articles, often at the expense of quality.
- Influence of Social Media: Social media influences public perception of science, with highly shared articles being more cited, which can lead to the spread of false information.
- Predatory Publishers and Scientific Fraud: Predatory publishers and scientific fraud are growing problems, undermining the integrity of scientific research.
- Need for Reorientation: The document concludes that a renewed focus on responsibility and integrity is necessary to achieve better outcomes in healthcare and cancer research.
- Need to Refocus: Transforming cancer research can only be reached by refocusing from a symptom-orientated approach to a cause-based approach.