Blind eye to danger.

This series on the history of cancer research begins with an account of pre-World War II research by Nazi scientists which shows that they were well aware of the connection between tobacco and lung cancer. But in Britain and the U.S. at that time medical schools paid little attention to cancer as the medical profession was not attracted by this hopeless disease. The programme shows how awareness of the connection between smoking and cancer came about in Britain and the U.S., and was denied and opposed by the tobacco industry. The history of experimental treatment by chemotherapy and radiation is also described. President Nixon pledged substantial funds to defeat cancer by 1976 but the challenge was not one that could be met simply by money.