Crave: The Hidden Biology of Addiction and Cancer is a nonfiction book written by Raphael E. Cuomo, Ph.D. Released in 2025, it explores how everyday addictive behaviors reshape the body in ways that may increase cancer risk.
Publisher's summary[]
Whether you're hooked on heroin or sugar, addiction leaves molecular traces. Crave explores how everyday habits such as binging, numbing, and coping quietly alter our biology in ways that can promote cancer. From processed foods and nicotine to compulsive overwork and digital overstimulation, this book redefines addiction as a critical, underrecognized factor in cancer risk.
As a professor and scientist at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Raphael E. Cuomo brings over a decade of research experience in substance use, cancer outcomes, and public health disparities. With clarity and scientific rigor, Crave translates emerging science into a narrative that resonates with a broad readership: grounded, actionable, and urgent.
Crave invites readers to reconsider what they think they know about addiction, not just as a mental health issue but as a biological process that reshapes long-term cancer risk.