Risks and opportunities for psychology’s contribution to the war on cancer.

This special issue of American Psychologist reviews a broad, diverse, and growing research literature that has established the discipline as an essential source of evidence concerning cancer prevention and control. Nevertheless, the history of psychological science that is intended to inform cancer control suggests a number of risks going forward that could attenuate the impact of this work. Fortunately, the field also faces new opportunities to contribute more substantially, especially if psychologists engage the broader biomedical and public health communities through rigorous, relevant, multilevel research that is informed by current knowledge of the disease and its treatment, the skills required to participate in large-scale trans-disciplinary team science, and an appreciation of the economic, organizational, and policy context of cancer control at the local and national levels.