The KressWorks Foundation is committed to the application of Biochemical Systems Engineering to advance the development and clinical implementation of treatments for cancer and other diseases. Factors that affect the etiology and progression of cancer, include tumor growth, likelihood of metastases, tumor heterogeneity via evolutionary dynamics, patient quality of life, cost and patient participation in, and response to, therapy. Better approaches to therapies and improved patient participation in the therapy decision making process are needed. The identification of new therapies for cancer will benefit from additional mechanistic insight into these uncertainties. A systems approach that integrates key aspects of the pathways associated with tumor growth in cancer will provide a powerful capability to gain better mechanistic insight, increase the potential for drug targets to intervene in the disease process, and tailor existing therapies at the patient level with a simultaneous optimization of patient treatment, quality of life, cost and disease progression monitoring and response.