Professor wins top award for cancer research work

From the archive, first published Friday 7th Jun 2002.

An Oxford professor who documented the growing worldwide impact of smoking as a cause of death has won a top award for his "outstanding" contribution to cancer research.

Sir Richard Peto, professor of Medical Statistics & Epidemiology at Oxford University, was awarded the $250,000 (£172,000) Charles S. Mott Prize, given annually by the US-based General Motors Cancer Research Foundation.

Sir Richard, who is funded by Cancer Research UK and the UK Medical Research Council, received the award in recognition of his work into the health implications of smoking on populations in the developed and developing world, and on his findings on the benefits of giving up smoking.

He was also cited for his statistical analyses of information on breast cancer treatment -- work that has led to improved therapies.

The prize and a gold medal were presented at a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said: "The accolade is given for the most recent outstanding contribution related to the cause or prevention of cancer.

"This high honour has been bestowed on a select number of the world's top scientists, nine of whom have gone on to win Nobel Prizes.

"Sir Richard has transformed global perspectives on cancer prevention by showing that tobacco will be the leading cause of cancer mortality, not only in developed countries such as the UK, but also in developing countries such as China."

Sir Richard said: "In the 20th century, 100 million people were killed by tobacco. But if current smoking patterns continue, one billion people will be killed by tobacco in the present century."

He said stopping smoking at any age resulted in a notable increase in life expectancy.