cure for cancer

English

Etymology

From the value such a hypothetical cure would entail, since cancer is responsible for the deaths of about ten million people annually.

Noun

cure for cancer

  1. (figurative) The ultimate breakthrough or achievement in any challenging field, symbolizing an elusive, transformative solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem, a Holy Grail.
    • 2011, Tarang Shah, Shital Shah, quoting Jim Boettcher, Venture Capitalists at Work: How VCs Identify and Build Billion-Dollar Successes, Apress, →ISBN, page 383:
      But if it's a start-up and it doesn't have any revenue, then the value equals P x S [solution] x E [entrepreneurial team], where the P is the magnitude of the problem that the company is going to solve. If it's a cure for cancer, that's huge. If it is a better improvement on a baby diaper, that's not so exciting.

See also

  • cure cancer

Usage notes

  • Cancer is not a single disease but rather a group of diseases, since there are over 100 types of cancers that can affect humans. As such, a hypothetical cure for cancer as a whole cannot exist.

Further reading

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