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Metastasis: The Rise of the Cancer-Industrial Complex and the Horizons of Care
A bold rethinking of cancer as a biological phenomenon, an indictment of science that serves capitalism, and a radical vision of liberated health and well-being.
More than fifty years after the declaration of the War on Cancer, we are nowhere closer to victory. The problem lies in the way cancer is understood and the “cancer-industrial complex” that has been established to address it. The cancer-industrial complex arises from the symbiosis of private corporations, nonprofit organizations such as universities and foundations, and public governmental regulatory bodies in the post-genomic era. This network profits off a vulnerable population who exist in a market that is structurally rigged against them given their physical and socioeconomic conditions. Under the auspices of scientific research and technological progress, much of which is well-meaning, a critical extortion takes place.
Metastasis brings the cancer-industrial complex to the fore of our understanding of what cancer is, the chronic nature of the disease, its unmistakable parallels to capitalism, its inextricable link to the neoliberal model of economic development, and its disproportionate burden on nonwhite and poor populations—and what it will really take to rid ourselves of the gravest dangers to our individual and collective well-being.
Trained as a cancer scientist, Nafis Hasan offers a critical and clinical reading of current narratives of cancer research and the conditions that put the onus on the individual rather than our collective efforts to prevent cancer incidence and deaths. He offers a visionary alternative theory about carcinogenesis—one countering the dominant neoliberal idea of mutations causing cancer—and centers a dialectical approach to understanding the biology and sociology of cancer. Hasan states, “If we must fight the longest war, then it should be the war against capitalism, whose growth has metastasized in every aspect of our society and ourselves.”
More than fifty years after the declaration of the War on Cancer, we are nowhere closer to victory. The problem lies in the way cancer is understood and the “cancer-industrial complex” that has been established to address it. The cancer-industrial complex arises from the symbiosis of private corporations, nonprofit organizations such as universities and foundations, and public governmental regulatory bodies in the post-genomic era. This network profits off a vulnerable population who exist in a market that is structurally rigged against them given their physical and socioeconomic conditions. Under the auspices of scientific research and technological progress, much of which is well-meaning, a critical extortion takes place.
Metastasis brings the cancer-industrial complex to the fore of our understanding of what cancer is, the chronic nature of the disease, its unmistakable parallels to capitalism, its inextricable link to the neoliberal model of economic development, and its disproportionate burden on nonwhite and poor populations—and what it will really take to rid ourselves of the gravest dangers to our individual and collective well-being.
Trained as a cancer scientist, Nafis Hasan offers a critical and clinical reading of current narratives of cancer research and the conditions that put the onus on the individual rather than our collective efforts to prevent cancer incidence and deaths. He offers a visionary alternative theory about carcinogenesis—one countering the dominant neoliberal idea of mutations causing cancer—and centers a dialectical approach to understanding the biology and sociology of cancer. Hasan states, “If we must fight the longest war, then it should be the war against capitalism, whose growth has metastasized in every aspect of our society and ourselves.”
- GenresScience
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2025
6 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 10, 2025
Wow. 4.5 stars. There were very few pages in this book I did not end up annotating, which may reflect my vestige interest in combining science, politics, philosophy, and sociology, but I think also largely speaks to how well Hasan was able to articulate such connections. So much was hitting. This was so well researched and I have underlined a myriad of footnote sources and journals to find online and read later— in other words this book REALLY put me on. I am so excited to learn more and share with fellow biomedical research colleagues. I do not think there is any other book I needed to read more than this on the brink of getting my PhD in genetics and Epigenetics, especially with an interest in cancer research and public health. I have so many new research ideas and questions and new doubts about some topics Hasan touched on— a wonderful way to end a book. I need to take my anxiety meds now. Also interesting to know the author is now an organizer in Philly after getting his PhD at Tufts; I wonder if I’ve seen him at protests. Would really like to speak with you, Dr. Hasan.
April 17, 2025
Last night I went to see Nafis Hasan at Brookline Booksmith for an event for his book, Metastasis: The Rise of the Cancer-Industrial Complex and the Horizons of Care. I first met Nafis through DSA and had not seen him since he left Boston, so I was looking forward to the event very much. It is cool to know smart and talented people whomst write books! It also was a great talk. In personal triumphs, last weekend I took advantage of the bad weather and my girlfriend’s unfortunate work schedule to make sure that for once in my life I read the book before the event, so I could be prepared.
Metastasis is short but very information-dense, covering a wide range of cancer-related topics, with a focus on the political dimensions of science. We learn about the history of cancer research and specifically of funding for cancer research, and both the scientific and ideological histories of how cancer is understood and what lines of inquiry people expect to find results in. Nafis criticized the overfocus on finding a “cure” and specifically the overfocus on finding a cure via genetics, to the detriment of focus on environmental and occupational cancer risks, even though the biggest factor in reducing cancer mortality in the last few decades appears to have been the generational drop in smoking rates. He highlights the ideological reasons that individualist causes and solutions to cancer dominate the world of cancer research, and the history of the framing of cancer as a matter of militaristic conflict–i.e., the “War on Cancer,” which we’ve been fighting for 50 years now. There’s an infuriating walk through the finances of cancer drug development and pricing, and some interesting comparisons to the way other countries do it, particularly Cuba and Brazil. The most narrowly focused parts of the book explain the issues with Somatic Mutation Theory, which is the current dominant understanding of the causes of cancer; the subjects then expand steadily in scope to a discussion of Marxist biology and the changes in the class position of the working scientist over the past couple of decades.
I am not particularly close to the world of cancer research and found myself a little surprised at the degree to which the, for lack of a better term, official world of Knowing Stuff About Cancer is so closely focused on genetics. I certainly knew that it was accepted that genetics were considered a risk factor, but I don’t think I’d quite realized the degree to which, after telling us all to wear sunscreen and never start smoking, the environmental factors seem to be considered officially cleaned up and all that anyone is researching is genes. I feel like outside the halls of power, especially in the realms of ordinary people, the understanding is alive and well that stuff can give you cancer. This all still seems to stick with a very individualist lifestyle bent, from the ordinary admonitions to wear sunscreen to the more anti-Big-Pharma-to-the-point-of-crankery admonitions to simply go through modern life without interacting with any chemicals whatsoever, which is… sort of a tall order. But the problems with various shady chemicals in our society are very real, and I have to wonder at the relationship between the neglect of Big Pharma/Big Business-Funded Research/Big Lobbyists for Small FDA and anti-science, pseudo-naturalistic “wellness” lifestyle peddling. How am I supposed to know who’s being a crank and who’s not when they tell me “Stay away from that, it’ll give you cancer” when “that” can be basically anything? Idk, maybe I’m surrounded by too many crunchy weirdos of both the left and right flavors that I had stone cold forgotten that I too used to see all the newspaper articles that were like “We are mapping the human genome, and with that we are going to Cure All Cancer Forever,” and it’s been itching my brain all week.
Anyway, that’s my own digression. This book has different digressions! One is on the scientific community’s response to the Republican party’s outright anti-science turn, and the way this both has and has not changed many scientists’ views of science as apolitical (or at least as *supposed* to be apolitical), and the political divide between the centrist inclinations of many scientists who consider themselves non-ideological, and the sort of left insurgency of a high-education, low-wage, mostly younger cohort of a scientific workforce that has been steadily proletarianizing. Another is about America’s fucked-up stupid health insurance system and what aspects of it would and would not be fixed by implementing Medicare for All. There was also a really wild history lesson about Nazi Germany’s research into the links between smoking and lung cancer, and what happened (or, more properly, did not happen) to that research after the war. If this is making it sound like the book is disjointed I can assure you it is not; its topics flow very logically from one another; they start very narrowly and broaden in scope as the book builds its arguments. Also, while I wouldn’t exactly call it easy reading, Nafis is very good about defining his terms so that readers who are not already familiar with the literature of either cancer research or Marxist theory (or both) don’t get lost among terms like “cancer-industrial complex” and “dialectical biology.”
Final verdict is that this is a highly informative, deeply researched, and thought-provoking book that provides a much-needed critique of the state of medical research from a pro-science, pro-patient, pro-organizing point of view. Read it and let it radicalize you.
Originally posted at The War on Cancer and its discontents.
Metastasis is short but very information-dense, covering a wide range of cancer-related topics, with a focus on the political dimensions of science. We learn about the history of cancer research and specifically of funding for cancer research, and both the scientific and ideological histories of how cancer is understood and what lines of inquiry people expect to find results in. Nafis criticized the overfocus on finding a “cure” and specifically the overfocus on finding a cure via genetics, to the detriment of focus on environmental and occupational cancer risks, even though the biggest factor in reducing cancer mortality in the last few decades appears to have been the generational drop in smoking rates. He highlights the ideological reasons that individualist causes and solutions to cancer dominate the world of cancer research, and the history of the framing of cancer as a matter of militaristic conflict–i.e., the “War on Cancer,” which we’ve been fighting for 50 years now. There’s an infuriating walk through the finances of cancer drug development and pricing, and some interesting comparisons to the way other countries do it, particularly Cuba and Brazil. The most narrowly focused parts of the book explain the issues with Somatic Mutation Theory, which is the current dominant understanding of the causes of cancer; the subjects then expand steadily in scope to a discussion of Marxist biology and the changes in the class position of the working scientist over the past couple of decades.
I am not particularly close to the world of cancer research and found myself a little surprised at the degree to which the, for lack of a better term, official world of Knowing Stuff About Cancer is so closely focused on genetics. I certainly knew that it was accepted that genetics were considered a risk factor, but I don’t think I’d quite realized the degree to which, after telling us all to wear sunscreen and never start smoking, the environmental factors seem to be considered officially cleaned up and all that anyone is researching is genes. I feel like outside the halls of power, especially in the realms of ordinary people, the understanding is alive and well that stuff can give you cancer. This all still seems to stick with a very individualist lifestyle bent, from the ordinary admonitions to wear sunscreen to the more anti-Big-Pharma-to-the-point-of-crankery admonitions to simply go through modern life without interacting with any chemicals whatsoever, which is… sort of a tall order. But the problems with various shady chemicals in our society are very real, and I have to wonder at the relationship between the neglect of Big Pharma/Big Business-Funded Research/Big Lobbyists for Small FDA and anti-science, pseudo-naturalistic “wellness” lifestyle peddling. How am I supposed to know who’s being a crank and who’s not when they tell me “Stay away from that, it’ll give you cancer” when “that” can be basically anything? Idk, maybe I’m surrounded by too many crunchy weirdos of both the left and right flavors that I had stone cold forgotten that I too used to see all the newspaper articles that were like “We are mapping the human genome, and with that we are going to Cure All Cancer Forever,” and it’s been itching my brain all week.
Anyway, that’s my own digression. This book has different digressions! One is on the scientific community’s response to the Republican party’s outright anti-science turn, and the way this both has and has not changed many scientists’ views of science as apolitical (or at least as *supposed* to be apolitical), and the political divide between the centrist inclinations of many scientists who consider themselves non-ideological, and the sort of left insurgency of a high-education, low-wage, mostly younger cohort of a scientific workforce that has been steadily proletarianizing. Another is about America’s fucked-up stupid health insurance system and what aspects of it would and would not be fixed by implementing Medicare for All. There was also a really wild history lesson about Nazi Germany’s research into the links between smoking and lung cancer, and what happened (or, more properly, did not happen) to that research after the war. If this is making it sound like the book is disjointed I can assure you it is not; its topics flow very logically from one another; they start very narrowly and broaden in scope as the book builds its arguments. Also, while I wouldn’t exactly call it easy reading, Nafis is very good about defining his terms so that readers who are not already familiar with the literature of either cancer research or Marxist theory (or both) don’t get lost among terms like “cancer-industrial complex” and “dialectical biology.”
Final verdict is that this is a highly informative, deeply researched, and thought-provoking book that provides a much-needed critique of the state of medical research from a pro-science, pro-patient, pro-organizing point of view. Read it and let it radicalize you.
Originally posted at The War on Cancer and its discontents.
August 3, 2025
Book Review: Metastasis: The Rise of the Cancer-Industrial Complex and the Horizons of Care by Nafis Hasan
Rating: 4.9/5
A Radical Diagnosis of the Cancer-Industrial Complex
Nafis Hasan’s Metastasis is a rethinking of cancer that transcends biomedical frameworks to expose the symbiotic relationship between capitalism and carcinogenesis. Trained as a cancer scientist and labor organizer, Hasan dissects the cancer-industrial complex—a network of corporations, nonprofits, and governments that profit from a system rigged against vulnerable populations. His critique of neoliberal narratives (e.g., reducing cancer to mutations) and advocacy for collective prevention models reframe cancer as a dialectical struggle against structural violence.
Emotional Resonance and Personal Reflections
Reading Hasan’s analysis of clinical trials as critical extortion evoked my encounters with patients bankrupted by treatment costs—a visceral reminder of healthcare’s commodification. The chapter The Market resonated deeply, remarkably, with his comparison of metastatic capitalism to tumorigenesis; I found myself recalling oncology wards where Black and poor patients faced later-stage diagnoses, mirroring systemic neglect. Yet, Hasan’s visionary alternative theory of carcinogenesis sparked cautious hope, akin to witnessing community-led health collectives challenge Big Pharma’s monopolies.
Constructive Criticism
- Clinical Nuance: While Hasan’s political economy lens is incisive, deeper engagement with oncologists’ frontline perspectives could bridge theory and practice.
- Intersectional Gaps: The book’s focus on class might further integrate racialized environmental racism (e.g., cancer clusters near industrial zones).
- Solution Specificity: Though The Horizon proposes collective care, concrete policy levers (e.g., Medicare for All’s role in drug pricing) would strengthen pragmatism.
Summary Takeaways:
- The Capital of Cancer Studies—Hasan exposes how capitalism metastasizes in our cells and societies.
- A biopsy of the cancer-industrial complex: equal parts scientific rigor and socialist praxis.
- For readers of The Emperor of All Maladies and Health Communism: A radical prescription for collective care.
- Hasan doesn’t just diagnose the disease—he dismantles the profit-driven ‘cure’.
- The War on Cancer’s missing manifesto: why prevention must be political.
Gratitude
Thank you to Edelweiss and Common Notions Press for the advance copy. Hasan’s sharp and perceptive work—hailed as a political answer to biomedical hegemony—is a clarion call for health justice.
Final Verdict: A groundbreaking synthesis of oncology and political economy, docked 0.1 for clinical-policy bridges, but indispensable for its unflinching critique.
Why Read It? To confront Hasan’s provocation: When cancer is capitalism’s symptom, can any drug be curative?
Rating: 4.9/5
A Radical Diagnosis of the Cancer-Industrial Complex
Nafis Hasan’s Metastasis is a rethinking of cancer that transcends biomedical frameworks to expose the symbiotic relationship between capitalism and carcinogenesis. Trained as a cancer scientist and labor organizer, Hasan dissects the cancer-industrial complex—a network of corporations, nonprofits, and governments that profit from a system rigged against vulnerable populations. His critique of neoliberal narratives (e.g., reducing cancer to mutations) and advocacy for collective prevention models reframe cancer as a dialectical struggle against structural violence.
Emotional Resonance and Personal Reflections
Reading Hasan’s analysis of clinical trials as critical extortion evoked my encounters with patients bankrupted by treatment costs—a visceral reminder of healthcare’s commodification. The chapter The Market resonated deeply, remarkably, with his comparison of metastatic capitalism to tumorigenesis; I found myself recalling oncology wards where Black and poor patients faced later-stage diagnoses, mirroring systemic neglect. Yet, Hasan’s visionary alternative theory of carcinogenesis sparked cautious hope, akin to witnessing community-led health collectives challenge Big Pharma’s monopolies.
Constructive Criticism
- Clinical Nuance: While Hasan’s political economy lens is incisive, deeper engagement with oncologists’ frontline perspectives could bridge theory and practice.
- Intersectional Gaps: The book’s focus on class might further integrate racialized environmental racism (e.g., cancer clusters near industrial zones).
- Solution Specificity: Though The Horizon proposes collective care, concrete policy levers (e.g., Medicare for All’s role in drug pricing) would strengthen pragmatism.
Summary Takeaways:
- The Capital of Cancer Studies—Hasan exposes how capitalism metastasizes in our cells and societies.
- A biopsy of the cancer-industrial complex: equal parts scientific rigor and socialist praxis.
- For readers of The Emperor of All Maladies and Health Communism: A radical prescription for collective care.
- Hasan doesn’t just diagnose the disease—he dismantles the profit-driven ‘cure’.
- The War on Cancer’s missing manifesto: why prevention must be political.
Gratitude
Thank you to Edelweiss and Common Notions Press for the advance copy. Hasan’s sharp and perceptive work—hailed as a political answer to biomedical hegemony—is a clarion call for health justice.
Final Verdict: A groundbreaking synthesis of oncology and political economy, docked 0.1 for clinical-policy bridges, but indispensable for its unflinching critique.
Why Read It? To confront Hasan’s provocation: When cancer is capitalism’s symptom, can any drug be curative?
September 8, 2025
4 stars, probably should be 5 stars for effort tbh.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews