"AIDS, leukemia, Hodgkins, hopefully solid tumors within the next few years. The potential for medical research is unlimited. We just need to make sure we don't interdict it by the wrong policies."Sphere: Related Content

The cost effectiveness of the breast cancer drug Herceptin was in question yesterday after an NHS senior specialist said that it cost 200,000 for each patient who benefited from it.

Peter Kirkbride said the millions spent on the drug last year could have helped far more cancer patients if it had instead been spent on radiology.

Dr Kirkbride, the chief spokesman on radiotherapy for the NHS, said 100?million was spent on giving Herceptin to 5,000 patients last year, of which an estimated 500 benefited from the drug.

"There is a lot of publicity about the role of chemotherapy but the consensus is of all cancers that are cured, half are cured by surgeries, 40 per cent by radiotherapy and only 10 per cent by drugs," he said.

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Measles deaths in Africa fell by 91% between 2000 and 2006, figures from the World Health Organization show.

UK researchers have developed a new 30-minute test for sexually transmitted infection chlamydia.