ater was introduced in Colombia during the 

Spanish colonization in 1550

through zarzuela companies. Colombian theater is supported by the Ministry of Culture and a
number of private and state owned organizations. The Ibero-American Theater Festival of Bogotá is
the cultural event of the highest importance in Colombia and one of the biggest theater festivals in
the world.[396] Other important theater events are: The Festival of Puppet The Fanfare (Medellín), The
Manizales Theater Festival, The Caribbean Theatre Festival (Santa Marta) and The Art Festival of
Popular Culture "Cultural Invasion" (Bogotá).[397][398][399]
Although the Colombian cinema is young as an industry, more recently the film industry was growing
with support from the Film Act passed in 2003.[400] Many film festivals take place in Colombia, but the
two most important are the Cartagena Film Festival, which is the oldest film festival in Latin America,
and the Bogotá Film Festival.[401][402][403]

The Cartagena Film Festival is the oldest cinema event in Latin America. The central focus is on films from
Ibero-America.[401]

Some important national circulation newspapers are El Tiempo and El Espectador. Television in

Colombia has two privately owned TV networks and three state-owned TV networks with national
coverage, as well as six regional TV networks and dozens of local TV stations. Private
channels, RCN and Caracol are the highest-rated. The regional channels and regional newspapers
cover a department or more and its content is made in these particular areas. [404][405][406]
Colombia has three major national radio networks: Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia, a state-run
national radio; Caracol Radio and RCN Radio, privately owned networks with hundreds of affiliates.
There are other national networks, including Cadena Super, Todelar, and Colmundo. Many
hundreds of radio stations are registered with the Ministry of Information Technologies and
Communications.[407]

Cuisine
Main article: Colombian cuisine

Sancocho de gallina criolla is a traditional soup in Colombia.

Colombia's varied cuisine is influenced by its diverse fauna and flora as well as the cultural traditions
of the ethnic groups. Colombian dishes and ingredients vary widely by region. Some of the most
common ingredients are: cereals such as rice and maize; tubers such as potato and cassava;
assorted legumes; meats, including beef, chicken, pork and goat; fish; and seafood. [408][409] Colombia
cuisine also features a variety of tropical fruits such as cape gooseberry, feijoa, arazá, dragon
fruit, mangostino, granadilla, papaya, guava, mora (blackberry), lulo, soursop and passionfruit.
[410]
 Colombia is one of the world's largest consumers of fruit juices. [411]
Among the most representative appetizers and soups are patacones (fried green
plantains), sancocho de gallina (chicken soup with root vegetables) and ajiaco (potato and corn
soup). Representative snacks and breads are pandebono, arepas (corn cakes), aborrajados (fried
sweet plantains with cheese), torta de choclo, empanadas and almojábanas. Representative main
courses are bandeja paisa, lechona tolimense, mamona, tamales and fish dishes (such as arroz de
lisa), especially in coastal regions where kibbeh, suero, costeño cheese and carimañolas are also
eaten. Representative side dishes are papas chorreadas (potatoes with cheese), remolachas
rellenas con huevo duro (beets stuffed with hard-boiled egg) and arroz con coco (coconut rice).[410]
[408]
 Organic food is a current trend in big cities, although in general across the country the fruits and
veggies are very natural and fresh.[412][413]
Representative desserts are buñuelos, natillas, Maria Luisa cake, bocadillo made of guayaba (guava
jelly), cocadas (coconut balls), casquitos de guayaba (candied guava peels), torta de
natas, obleas, flan de mango, roscón, milhoja, manjar blanco, dulce de feijoa, dulce
de papayuela, torta de mojicón, and esponjado de curuba. Typical sauces (salsas)
are hogao (tomato and onion sauce) and Colombian-style ají.[410][408]
Some representative beverages
are coffee (Tinto), champús, cholado, lulada, avena colombiana, sugarcane juice, aguapanela, agua
rdiente, hot chocolate and fresh fruit juices (often made with water or milk).[410][408]

Sports
Main article: Sport in Colombia

Mariana Pajón is a Colombian cyclist, two-time Olympic gold medalist and BMX World Champion.

Tejo is Colombia's national sport and is a team sport that involves launching projectiles to hit a
target.[414] But of all sports in Colombia, football is the most popular. Colombia was the champion of
the 2001 Copa América, in which they set a new record of being undefeated, conceding no goals
and winning each match. Colombia has been awarded "mover of the year" twice.[415]
Colombia is a hub for roller skaters. The national team is a perennial powerhouse at the World Roller
Speed Skating Championships. [416] Colombia has traditionally been very good in cycling and a large
number of Colombian cyclists have triumphed in major competitions of cycling. [417]
Baseball is popular in cities like Cartagena and Barranquilla. Of those cities have come good players
like: Orlando Cabrera, Édgar Rentería, who was champion of the World
Series in 1997 and 2010[418] and others who have played in Major League Baseball. Colombia
was world amateur champion in 1947 and 1965.[419]
Boxing is one of the sports that has produced more world champions for Colombia. [420]
[421]
 Motorsports also occupies an important place in the sporting preferences of Colombians; Juan
Pablo Montoya is a race car driver known for winning 7 Formula One events. Colombia also has
excelled in sports such as BMX, judo, shooting sport, taekwondo, wrestling, high
diving and athletics, also has a long tradition in weightlifting and bowling.[422][423][424]

Health
Main article: Health care in Colombia

Colombia leads the annual América Economía ranking of the best clinics and hospitals in Latin America. [425]

The overall life expectancy in Colombia at birth is 79.3 years (76.7 years for males and 81.9 years
for females).[280] Healthcare reforms have led to massive improvements in the healthcare systems of
the country, with health standards in Colombia improving very much since the 1980s. The new
system has widened population coverage by the social and health security system from 21% (pre-
1993) to 96% in 2012.[426]
A study conducted by América Economía magazine ranked 21 Colombian health care
institutions among the top 44 in Latin America, amounting to 48 percent of the total. [425] In 2017, the
government declared a cancer research and treatment center as a Project of National Strategic
Interest.[427]
ot) for cancer in 1775 and cigarette smoking was identified as a cause of lung cancer in 1950. Early
cancer treatment focused on improving surgical techniques for removing tumors. Radiation therapy
took hold in the 1900s. Chemotherapeutics were developed and refined throughout the 20th century.
The U.S. declared a "War on Cancer" in the 1970s, and increased the funding and support for
cancer research.[2]

Seminal papers[edit]
Some of the most highly cited and most influential research reports include:

 The Hallmarks of Cancer, published in 2000, and Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation,
published in 2011, by Douglas Hanahan and Robert Weinberg. Together, these articles have
been cited in over 30,000 published papers.

Types of research[edit]
Cancer research encompasses a variety of types and interdisciplinary areas of research. Scientists
involved in cancer research may be trained in areas such as chemistry, biochemistry, molecular
biology, physiology, medical physics, epidemiology, and biomedical engineering. Research
performed on a foundational level is referred to as basic research and is intended to clarify scientific
principles and mechanisms. Translational research aims to elucidate mechanisms of cancer
development and progression and transform basic scientific findings into concepts that can be
applicable to the treatment and prevention of cancer. Clinical research is devoted to the
development of pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, and medical technologies for the eventual
treatment of patients.

Prevention and epidemiology[edit]

Epidemiologic analysis indicates that at least 35% of all cancer deaths in the world could now be
avoided by primary prevention.[3] Furthermore, it is estimated that with further research cancer death
rates could be reduced by 70% around the world even without the development of any new
therapies.[3] Yet cancer prevention research receives only 2 to 9% of global cancer research funding.
[3]

Cause and development of cancer[edit]

Numerous cell signaling pathways are disrupted in the development of cancer.

Research into the cause of cancer involves many different disciplines including genetics, diet,
environmental factors (i.e. chemical carcinogens). In regard to investigation of causes and potential
targets for therapy, the route used starts with data obtained from clinical observations, enters basic
research, and, once convincing and independently confirmed results are obtained, proceeds with
clinical research, involving appropriately designed trials on consenting human subjects, with the aim
to test safety and efficiency of the therapeutic intervention method. An important part of basic
research is characterization of the potential mechanisms of carcinogenesis, in regard to the types of
genetic and epigenetic changes that are associated with cancer development. The mouse is often
used as a mammalian model for manipulation of the function of genes that play a role in tumor
formation, while basic aspects of tumor initiation, such as mutagenesis, are assayed on cultures of
bacteria and mammalian cells.
Genes involved in cancer[edit]
Main article: Oncogenomics

See also: Databases for oncogenomic research

The goal of oncogenomics is to identify new oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes that may provide

new insights into cancer diagnosis, predicting clinical outcome of cancers, and new targets for
cancer therapies. As the Cancer Genome Project stated in a 2004 review article, "a central aim of
cancer research has been to identify the mutated genes that are causally implicated in oncogenesis
(cancer genes)."[4] The Cancer Genome Atlas project is a related effort investigating the genomic
changes associated with cancer, while the COSMIC cancer database documents acquired
genetic mutations from hundreds of thousands of human cancer samples. [5]
These large scale projects, involving about 350 different types of cancer, have identified
~130,000 mutations in ~3000 genes that have been mutated in the tumours. The majority occurred
in 319 genes, of which 286 were tumour suppressor genes and 33 oncogenes.
Several hereditary factors can increase the chance of cancer-causing mutations, including the
activation of oncogenes or the inhibition of tumor suppressor genes. The functions of various onco-
and tumor suppressor genes can be disrupted at different stages of tumor progression. Mutations in
such genes can be used to classify the malignancy of a tumor.
In later stages, tumors can develop a resistance to cancer treatment. The identification of oncogenes
and tumor suppressor genes is important to understand tumor progression and treatment success.
The role of a given gene in cancer progression may vary tremendously, depending on the stage and
type of cancer involved.[6]

Detection[edit]
Prompt detection of cancer is important, since it is usually more difficult to treat in later stages.
Accurate detection of cancer is also important because false positives can cause harm from
unnecessary medical procedures. Some screening protocols are currently not accurate (such
as prostate-specific antigen testing). Others such as a colonoscopy or mammogram are unpleasant
and as a result some patients may opt out. Active research is underway to address all these
problems.[citation needed]

Treatment[edit]
Main article: Treatment of cancer

Emerging topics of cancer treatment research include:

 Anti-cancer vaccines
o Oncophage[7]
o Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) is a prostate cancer vaccine
 Newer forms of chemotherapy
 Gene therapy[8][9][10]
 Photodynamic therapy
 Radiation therapy
 Reoviridae (Reolysin drug therapy)
 Targeted therapy
 Natural killer cells can induce immunological memory.[11] Research is being developed to modify
their action against cancer.[11]

Research funding[edit]
Cancer research is funded by government grants, charitable foundations and pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies.[12]
In the early 2000s, most funding for cancer research came from taxpayers and charities, rather than
from corporations. In the US, less than 30% of all cancer research was funded by commercial
researchers such as pharmaceutical companies. [13] Per capita, public spending on cancer research
by taxpayers and charities in the US was five times as much in 2002–03 as public spending by
taxpayers and charities in the 15 countries that were full members of the European Union. [13] As a
percentage of GDP, the non-commercial funding of cancer research in the US was four times the
amount dedicated to cancer research in Europe.[13] Half of Europe's non-commercial cancer research
is funded by charitable organizations.[13]
The National Cancer Institute is the major funding institution in the United States. In the 2016 fiscal
year, the NCI funded $5.2 billion in cancer research.[14]
Difficulties