Developing evidence‐based, cost‐effective P4 cancer medicine for driving innovation in prevention, therapeutics, patient care and reducing healthcare inequalities

The cancer problem is expanding, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Preventive measures can reduce the incidence by 40–50%, and cure rates have increased during the past decades in a number of cancers. However, optimizing prevention programmes and increasing cure rates of cancer remain significant research challenges. The main focus of the conference was on P4 Cancer Medicine (Predictive, Preventive, Personalized and Participatory), a comprehensive strategy encompassing Health‐Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) research, aiming to enhance the well‐being of patients and individuals at risk. Addressing the cancer problem requires two key elements: translational cancer research and the development of relevant infrastructures. A Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) acts as an innovation hub by integrating high‐quality, multidisciplinary therapy and care, with healthcare‐dependent prevention, research, and education. The United States has been at the forefront, providing quality‐assured CCCs and the Cancer Moonshot for strategic cancer research. The EU has followed with the European Research Council for basic research, the European Innovation Council to boost disruptive innovation, and two EU initiatives on cancer, Europe's Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) and the Mission on Cancer. The increasing complexity of cancer biology and technologies presents both a research challenge and a healthcare demand. For most patients, a CCC is not available. A critical discussion focused on quality assurance of healthcare outside the catchment area of a CCC and involving patients in clinical research. The strategic deployment of resources to support collective healthcare efforts and research aimed at reducing the cancer problem was discussed with representatives from the United States, EU, Africa, China, India and Taiwan. Analyses of translational cancer research have revealed important gaps in implementing innovations, assessment of clinical effectiveness, HRQoL, outcome and health economics research. The increased release of new anticancer agents over the last 25 years, accompanied by insufficient information on clinical benefits, presents both an economic and ethical problem. Direct healthcare costs have increased due to expenses for anticancer agents for the treatment of patients with incurable diseases. Evidence‐based treatment based on HRQoL research is an unmet need. Basic/preclinical research aimed at increasing the cure rate should identify new, broader targets for therapy and develop extended diagnostic technologies for stratifying patients, to inform innovative clinical trials. Present research strategies convert cancer to a chronic disease, a growing burden for the healthcare systems. The increasing complexity of cancer biology and technology, the growing need for translational cancer research, and the demand for supporting infrastructures underscore the importance of international collaborations between CCCs. However, funding for cancer research is not currently aligned to reduce the cancer problem. While public funding for cancer research doubled between 2005 and 2024, the pharmaceutical industry's spending on cancer research increased tenfold. Increasing funding by public and non‐profit funding organizations is mandatory. Education is another significant need, but it is currently fragmented and underfunded. The last session of the conference summarized the strategies in a Statement with a strong emphasis on global collaboration addressing the growing cancer burden and pronounced inequalities. Expanding partnerships and fostering innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to cancer prevention, therapeutics/care, as well as research, are not just urgent but essential steps towards reducing incidence, increasing cure rates and enhancing the well‐being of cancer patients. Data‐driven cancer medicine is currently under development, and modern communication technologies for diagnostics may facilitate interactions across geographical distances. A global cancer research agenda can become a model of solidarity, sustainability, and ethical responsibility.

System‐level analysis of industrial electrification

ABSTRACT Electrification is a promising method for industrial decarbonization, but understanding its potential is challenging due to the plethora of relevant technologies and industrial sectors it can be applied to. To this end, we develop an assessment framework to quantify the cost and environmental impacts of electrification, including the option to operate flexibly to take advantage of time‐dependent electricity prices and emissions. We use the developed methods to show the relative importance of process and energy parameters on the economic and environmental outcomes of electrification. We find that using representative electricity profiles, flexible operation leads to a minimal reduction in costs, but potentially drastic decreases in emissions. We show that both costs and emissions are highly sensitive to process parameters such as the electricity‐to‐heat conversion efficiency. The developed suite of tools can assess system economics and environmental impact, and thereby identify the major drivers in a range of industrial sectors.

Carbon fiber/metal–organic framework composites for process integration of uranium extraction with seawater desalination

Abstract Uranium, a critical fuel for nuclear power generation, is essential for energy security and low‐carbon transitions. Seawater desalination concentrate (SDC) with approximately twice the uranium concentration of seawater represents a highly promising source for uranium extraction. In this study, we synthesized carbon fiber (CF)/UiO‐66‐AO composites (CF@UiO‐66‐AO) via a template‐free aqueous synthesis approach. The prepared materials demonstrated outstanding uranium adsorption capabilities, reaching a maximum capacity of 743.15 mg/g. Notably, they demonstrated excellent salt resistance in SDC and achieved an exceptional adsorption capacity of 15.8 mg/g, representing a 2.4‐fold increase over seawater (6.63 mg/g). Furthermore, the uranium extraction is integrated with the seawater desalination process, so that it can leverage the infrastructure and energy streams and increase the overall economics. The present work establishes the foundational materials science and engineering framework necessary to advance seawater‐derived uranium extraction from laboratory‐scale demonstrations toward viable scale‐up implementation. These advancements are pivotal for nuclear energy sustainability.

Issue Information

Brian E. Roe

Presidents

Gerald “Jerry” Shively

De gustibus est disputandum : The role of agricultural and applied economists in an era of behavior change initiatives and endogenous preferences

Abstract Popular society increasingly questions preferences that drive many resource allocations and production decisions, with many groups actively seeking to alter those preferences to achieve changes to resource use. Agricultural and applied economists, who are already equipped with excellent technical skills to undertake consumer preference and valuation studies, must also be challenged to understand post‐Beckerian consumer theories that can help guide emerging requests placed upon economists as multi‐disciplinary collaborators as non‐academic groups press us to join in work involving interventions that work from the implicit assumption that preferences are malleable and potentially endogenous. I call association members to follow our best traditions of studying production dynamics and incorporating emerging theories drawn from or inspired by other disciplines so that we may better interact with the broader scientific community who, as many suggest, finds our insistence on stable and static preferences to limit the usefulness of economists in handling a raft of modern dilemmas. In addition to setting out the history of economists' reticence in considering endogenous preferences, I will outline several threads of emerging literature that can provide structure to professional inquiry in this domain and sketch some emergent cases with implications for the agricultural and resource sectors.

AAEA Fellows

Sergio H. Lence