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The Transformed Cell
The chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute explains his pioneering achievements using "gene therapy" to cure cancer and shares the moving stories of those undergoing treatment. 60,000 first printing. $70,000 ad/promo.
353 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 1992
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935 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 16, 2018
An exceptional personal account of a scientist in his pursuit of better treatment options for cancer. This book is a biography of sorts, a narrative on how science truly works, and a commentary on science culture. While the science is dated, the process that Dr. Rosenberg went through is illustrative of how science works in the real world. He is honest throughout the book and keeps the pace moving. You sense an urgency is his quest. He recounts many of the great moments, but does not shy away from the failures. A wonderful book to read for anyone interested in science and cancer.
The book is broken into five parts. The first part sets up the major question that drives Dr. Rosenberg, whether the body's immune system can recognize and fight cancer. He details much of his educational and professional training here and the reader becomes acquainted with his passion for finding a better way to treat cancer. The second part details his early days at NIH in the late 1970s and early 1980s as he formulated hypotheses that would guide his research using interleukin-2 (IL-2). The third part details many of the clinical trials that he initially started with IL-2 and the challenges they faced and things they learned. The fourth part of the book explains the progress that was made with his therapies resulting in many successes for patients, some having their cancers disappear completely. The fifth part details his beginning effort into gene therapy for cancer, especially the politics of it all in getting approval from different regulatory committees.
The book is personal in that you come to know Dr. Rosenberg and his patients very well. He expressed his anxiety over his patients and frustrations when they did not respond. You sense the hunger and passion in him to get immunotherapy to work. He shares his personal feelings about how science should operate in a more open way. This book was written during the early years of biotechnology and he already sees the benefits and challenges they bring to the scientific realm.
The book is broken into five parts. The first part sets up the major question that drives Dr. Rosenberg, whether the body's immune system can recognize and fight cancer. He details much of his educational and professional training here and the reader becomes acquainted with his passion for finding a better way to treat cancer. The second part details his early days at NIH in the late 1970s and early 1980s as he formulated hypotheses that would guide his research using interleukin-2 (IL-2). The third part details many of the clinical trials that he initially started with IL-2 and the challenges they faced and things they learned. The fourth part of the book explains the progress that was made with his therapies resulting in many successes for patients, some having their cancers disappear completely. The fifth part details his beginning effort into gene therapy for cancer, especially the politics of it all in getting approval from different regulatory committees.
The book is personal in that you come to know Dr. Rosenberg and his patients very well. He expressed his anxiety over his patients and frustrations when they did not respond. You sense the hunger and passion in him to get immunotherapy to work. He shares his personal feelings about how science should operate in a more open way. This book was written during the early years of biotechnology and he already sees the benefits and challenges they bring to the scientific realm.
January 15, 2024
I figured that I absolutely had to read this book during the first year of my PhD.
The project I’m working on is in the field of cancer immunology, a field that Steven Rosenberg played an enormous role in establishing, and therefore forms the main focus of this book. Although cancer immunology is a big area of research at the moment, in the 1970s and 80s, it was a branch of science that few dared to venture into to - skeptics were abounding and acolytes were few and far between. Indeed, Rosenberg recounts the uphill struggles he faced in settling up a lab dedicated to studying how the immune system might fight cancer.
In essence, his work proved that one could take immune cells from a person with cancer and reinfuse them into the patient (having expanded them by several orders of magnitude) to produce an strong immune response against the cancer. He then went on to take this further with specifically isolating immune cells found in the tumours of his patients, expanding them and then reinfusing them to produce even stronger anti-cancer activity.
In this book, Rosenberg takes us through the experiments which underpinned these discoveries, sparing no detail along the way. The strong translatability of his work from the lab bench to the clinic seems apparent post-hoc, but it is particularly impressive to build up from the crumbs of how immune cells function to a tangible therapy for patients.It’s interesting to see how when Rosenberg was working with the fundamental science behind the movement of immune cells, he was already envisioning how he could use that knowledge to treat patients. He impresses upon the reader the tao of the clinician scientist and his insatiable urge to translate one’s laboratory findings to the clinic as rapidly as possible.
Beyond his inherent motivations for pursuing cell transfers, Rosenberg’s strategic thinking is laid out clearly to the reader, in particular, his 5 “ifs” which guided his work to prove that the immune system could fight cancer form an excellent framework to grasp the nature of the research his lab was doing at the time. Moreover, his linking of all of these “ifs” across chapters was very impressive - Rosenberg weaves a complex but easily understood web of links between what would initially appear to be very disparate experiments, showing us the logic behind his hypotheses and how specific experiments could validate aspects of each of them.
The project I’m working on is in the field of cancer immunology, a field that Steven Rosenberg played an enormous role in establishing, and therefore forms the main focus of this book. Although cancer immunology is a big area of research at the moment, in the 1970s and 80s, it was a branch of science that few dared to venture into to - skeptics were abounding and acolytes were few and far between. Indeed, Rosenberg recounts the uphill struggles he faced in settling up a lab dedicated to studying how the immune system might fight cancer.
In essence, his work proved that one could take immune cells from a person with cancer and reinfuse them into the patient (having expanded them by several orders of magnitude) to produce an strong immune response against the cancer. He then went on to take this further with specifically isolating immune cells found in the tumours of his patients, expanding them and then reinfusing them to produce even stronger anti-cancer activity.
In this book, Rosenberg takes us through the experiments which underpinned these discoveries, sparing no detail along the way. The strong translatability of his work from the lab bench to the clinic seems apparent post-hoc, but it is particularly impressive to build up from the crumbs of how immune cells function to a tangible therapy for patients.It’s interesting to see how when Rosenberg was working with the fundamental science behind the movement of immune cells, he was already envisioning how he could use that knowledge to treat patients. He impresses upon the reader the tao of the clinician scientist and his insatiable urge to translate one’s laboratory findings to the clinic as rapidly as possible.
Beyond his inherent motivations for pursuing cell transfers, Rosenberg’s strategic thinking is laid out clearly to the reader, in particular, his 5 “ifs” which guided his work to prove that the immune system could fight cancer form an excellent framework to grasp the nature of the research his lab was doing at the time. Moreover, his linking of all of these “ifs” across chapters was very impressive - Rosenberg weaves a complex but easily understood web of links between what would initially appear to be very disparate experiments, showing us the logic behind his hypotheses and how specific experiments could validate aspects of each of them.
March 7, 2019
DNF. It'f fine, but prob. a better read for someone else. I just have too much other stuff going on for this to hold my attn. The 1st bit is more about the doctor than the science. I don't know if that holds true for the remainder of the read. Would prob. be good for someone wondering what it might be like to be a research doctor with an applied practice, or for someone wondering how politics effects scientific work. The science itself is not new, but that doesn't mean it's less interesting. However, for someone w/ a background in medicine, I don't know how gripping it might be. Part of the reason I moved on from it personally was because this was not new information to me, & I was just not particularly interested in his life story. That said, if I were somewhere I needed reading material, this would have suited the job just fine. Being that I have shelves of book waiting on me though, I will pass this on to someone else. If you think it might be of interest to you, it's worth giving it a try.
November 22, 2025
subtle james watson slander detected ✔✔✔✔✔
June 19, 2021
A personal account about the development of cancer immunology. An inspiring story for my high school years.
December 16, 2020
I thought this book provided a very interesting perspective on a researchers struggle and journey to finding a cure for cancer. It just showed how long and arduous the process is and you really got to feel that sense of delay in gratification as you read chapter after chapter with no change in the doctors results.
Another thing I enjoyed, was seeing how this doctor grew up and what traits he had that lead him to this path. What habits he sheltered and grew to become a pioneer within his field as a surgeon at a relatively young age.
I recommend it for anyone wanting a glimpse on the underbelly of scientific research and application in medicine.
Another thing I enjoyed, was seeing how this doctor grew up and what traits he had that lead him to this path. What habits he sheltered and grew to become a pioneer within his field as a surgeon at a relatively young age.
I recommend it for anyone wanting a glimpse on the underbelly of scientific research and application in medicine.
May 30, 2022
I loved this book. Everyone that wants to learn more about the day to day life of scientist at the forefront of scientific innovation looks like should read that book. Far from the glamour of awards and prices and everyday successes, this book gives a glimpse into the ups and downs that scientists have to go through to push the boundaries of human knowledge and the burden this work has on their psyche. A definite must read for students that consider research as career choices
September 21, 2023
The book discusses immunotherapy as an alternative treatment for cancer. It begins with a problem statement: Can the immune system be triggered to attack cancer cells?
It chronicles the journey from formulating the problem statement to treating people with immunotherapy.
The writing is simple and makes it easy to understand the technical details mentioned in the book.
Circles covered: Known unknowns, Unknown Unknowns.
It chronicles the journey from formulating the problem statement to treating people with immunotherapy.
The writing is simple and makes it easy to understand the technical details mentioned in the book.
Circles covered: Known unknowns, Unknown Unknowns.
June 26, 2023
I loved reading this book. As somebody with an arts and humanities background, a book about the science of cancer is an unlikely choice. But this book is not simply a book about a disease and the progress made in research, it’s a book that shows the immense fortitude of people who are driven toward a meaningful purpose. This is a book about resiliency, creativity, cooperation, and integrity—having the courage (and the necessary doggedness that must accompany such a characteristic) to stay the course, no matter how difficult.
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February 20, 2024I am still reading the book. It is a personal story with a lot of science in the midst. I did not understand much of the latter. One of my takeaways is how there are all these dedicated scientists all over the world and at NIH working hard and they have no interest in politics. During the Covid crisis there were conspiracy theorists who demonized researchers. I read about that in other book.
This book has nothing to do with the Covid crisis. The book was written 30 years ago. I appreciated the author's desire to share information and let others continue the research he may have started. He was all about collaboration.
Sadly, cancer is still a scourge. I've learned a lot about cancer especially when my friend had it. Cancer is each person's cells going rogue. This is why cancer is so hard to cure. I read recently that more people are surviving cancer but the treatment is very painful, difficult and often the side effects can be life-changing.
I skipped over a lot of the science but I liked the stories of people. Most died but they had no other option than to try the experimental treatment.
This book has nothing to do with the Covid crisis. The book was written 30 years ago. I appreciated the author's desire to share information and let others continue the research he may have started. He was all about collaboration.
Sadly, cancer is still a scourge. I've learned a lot about cancer especially when my friend had it. Cancer is each person's cells going rogue. This is why cancer is so hard to cure. I read recently that more people are surviving cancer but the treatment is very painful, difficult and often the side effects can be life-changing.
I skipped over a lot of the science but I liked the stories of people. Most died but they had no other option than to try the experimental treatment.
July 5, 2021
This book told me what it takes to conduct scientific research, and what it means to be a scientist.
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May 13, 2011its on my Bucket List of Books
December 20, 2012
Extremely well written and inspirational. This man is amazing.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews