| Summary: | Introduction – Cancer has been the subject of abundant historiographical approaches in the international context. Only recently has this broad theme been treated in Portuguese historiography. Objectives – Revolving around the emergence of the fight against cancer in the international context, one presents a brief overview on the evolution of this phenomenon in Portugal in the first half of the twentieth century. Methodology – Document analysis. Qualitative and heuristic. Results/Discussion/Final considerations – The fight against cancer in Portugal followed roughly the same international patterns of the first half of the twentieth century. However, its emergence and institutionalization presented some particularities. Inserted between a medical specialty in a process of affirmation and the real needs of cancer patients, it was the result of the combination of a number of factors that go beyond the mere assimilation of new medical technologies or even the creation of a space for the practice of oncology. It also became a means to accomplish an intensive education on the health of populations, a tool tip in specialized medical training and a reference of scientific modernity in the Estado Novo context.
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