The success of Druker’s drug left a deep impression on the field of oncology. “When I was a youngster in Illinois1027 in the 1950s,” Bruce Chabner wrote in an editorial, “the world of sport was shocked by the feat of Roger Bannister. . . . On May 6, 1954, he broke the four-minute barrier in the mile. While improving upon the world record by only a few seconds, he changed the complexion of distance running in a single afternoon. . . . Track records fell like ripe apples in the late 50s and 60s. Will the same happen in the field of cancer treatment?”

