The Breakthrough

Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer

By: Charles Graeber

Narrated by: Will Collyer, Charles Graeber

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Follow along as this New York Times best-selling author details the astonishing scientific discovery of the code to unleashing the human immune system to fight in this "captivating and heartbreaking" book (The Wall Street Journal).

For decades, scientists have puzzled over one of medicine's most confounding mysteries: Why doesn't our immune system recognize and fight cancer the way it does other diseases, like the common cold?

As it turns out, the answer to that question can be traced to a series of tricks that cancer has developed to turn off normal immune responses - tricks that scientists have only recently discovered and learned to defeat. The result is what many are calling cancer's "penicillin moment", a revolutionary discovery in our understanding of cancer and how to beat it.

In The Breakthrough, New York Times best-selling author of The Good Nurse Charles Graeber guides listeners through the revolutionary scientific research bringing immunotherapy out of the realm of the miraculous and into the forefront of 21st-century medical science. As advances in the fields of cancer research and the human immune system continue to fuel a therapeutic arms race among biotech and pharmaceutical research centers around the world, the next step - harnessing the wealth of new information to create modern and more effective patient therapies - is unfolding at an unprecedented pace, rapidly redefining our relationship with this all-too-human disease.

Groundbreaking, riveting, and expertly told, The Breakthrough is the story of the game-changing scientific discoveries that unleash our natural ability to recognize and defeat cancer, as told through the experiences of the patients, physicians, and cancer immunotherapy researchers who are on the front lines. This is the incredible true story of the race to find a cure, a dispatch from the life-changing world of modern oncological science, and a brave new chapter in medical history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Charles Graeber (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Graeber concisely reviews the science of cancer...The risks of tinkering with an intricate immune system are obviously high, even perilous. But the potential reward is a cure. Exciting reading." (Booklist)

"There is no villain more ruthless than cancer, which has robbed us all of loved ones who had to endure untold suffering before they succumbed. But after decades of frustration and toil, scientists finally understand how to vanquish the disease by activating the human body's natural defenses. The intimate stories behind this triumph lie at the heart of Charles Graeber's The Breakthrough, an expertly crafted and exhilarating account of life-saving ingenuity at its most dazzling. You will never encounter another book so incisive about the art of medical sleuthing, or so poetic about our innate drive to hold on to all that's beautiful in this world for as long as we can." (Brendan I. Koerner, Wired contributing editor and author of The Skies Belong to Us)

"[A] deft, detailed study of cancer immunotherapy.... From the once-discredited pioneer William Coley to immunologist and Nobel laureate James P. Allison, they form a brilliant, driven, admirably stubborn group that Graeber brings vividly to life." (Nature)

Good intro to immunotherapy

great sequel to The Emperor of All Malidies. Same format great personal stories combined with solid explanations of the underlying science.

Starter Story on Immunotherapy

The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer by Charles Graeber is a well-written and informative book that tells the story of the scientific discoveries that have led to the development of immunotherapy, a new form of cancer treatment that is showing great promise. Graeber does an excellent job of explaining the science in a way that is easy to understand, and he also provides a balanced view of the potential benefits and risks of immunotherapy.

One of the strengths of the book is Graeber's ability to tell a compelling story. He profiles a number of patients who have been treated with immunotherapy, and he describes their experiences in vivid detail. This helps the reader to understand the human cost of cancer, and it also makes the science come alive.

Another strength of the book is Graeber's willingness to confront the difficult questions that immunotherapy raises. For example, he discusses the ethical implications of using the immune system to attack healthy cells, and he also raises concerns about the potential for immunotherapy to exacerbate racial disparities in healthcare.

Overall, The Breakthrough is an excellent book that provides a comprehensive overview of the science and history of immunotherapy. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in cancer treatment or in the future of medicine.

However, there are a few areas where the book could be improved. First, Graeber could have done a better job of explaining the technical aspects of immunotherapy. Some of the concepts he discusses are quite complex, and it would have been helpful if he had provided more detail.

Second, Graeber could have been more balanced in his coverage of the potential benefits and risks of immunotherapy. He tends to focus on the potential benefits, and he does not discuss the risks as extensively. This could give the reader a false impression of the risks of immunotherapy.

Overall, The Breakthrough is an excellent book that provides a comprehensive overview of the science and history of immunotherapy. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in cancer treatment or in the future of medicine.

Surprisingly gripping

Take a scientific problem as vexing as cancer, come at it with an age-old yet controversial approach, and turn it over to a talented writer--one who uses simple metaphors to convey the complex, and who sprinkles in references to Jerry Garcia and Cassablanca just to keep you on your toes. The result? A fascinating medical tale that is still taking shape.

A brief update of cancer therapy for the public

This book provides a few stories of successful and failed efforts in curing and managing cancer with immunotherapy. The narrative in the first chapter seems too emotional, almost like fiction, But later chapters turned out to be better. The book is easy to follow even for a layman and may be of interest to anyone who wants to follow the latest development of treating cancer.

Current research on immunotherapy

chapter 1 had too many metaphors, like a dime store crime novel, and the turn to religion seems a slap in the face of the science developed to treat cancer

Inspiring + Informational Cancer Treatment Stories

I enjoyed listening to the history and science behind cancer research as well as all of the personal stories of struggle and progress. This gives me hope.

An excellent introduction for lay people into the world of immunotherapy for cancer treatment

If you enjoy learning about a range of subjects and have a high school level understanding of human biology, you'll find this book relatively easy to digest during the technical sections and all will find something that resonates with them in the stories of the cancer patients.

Inspiring and informative

Will Collyer gives a top notch reading to a story, at once inspiring , and yet cautionary and hopeful.
It was also like an immunotherapy primer with a gripping tale.
After all, what is more gripping than real life.
Also my humblest thanks to those who dedicate themselves to finding solutions to this deadly disease!

Excellent

I read this after reading "The Emperor of all Maladies" It's an awesome add on. Well researched, written in an engaging way that keeps the listener locked in, but you will also learn a TON! I love books like this!

Well done

Well told story. The human side as well as the “breakthroughs.” I dislike any book on science which is dumbed down, personalized to opinion, or lacking data and source. This is not one of those.

Excellent.