Photo by Rhoda Baer
A new report highlights recent advances made in the fight against cancer but suggests the burden of cancer in the US is still on the rise.
The AACR Cancer Progress Report 2016 states that the number of cancer survivors in the US rose by 1 million from 2014 to 2016, reaching an estimated 15.5 million.
Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new treatments for a range of cancers.
Between August 1, 2015, and July 31, 2016, the FDA approved 13 new anticancer therapies and new uses for 11 previously approved anticancer therapies.
Six of these drugs were approved to treat hematologic malignancies:
- Venetoclax for chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Daratumumab for multiple myeloma
- Elotuzumab for multiple myeloma
- Ixazomib for multiple myeloma
- Obinutuzumab for follicular lymphoma
- Nivolumab for classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
The report notes that the use of immunotherapy, in particular, is on the rise. For example, on August 1, 2015, checkpoint inhibitors were approved for just 2 cancers—melanoma and lung cancer.
As of September 1, 2016, checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for 6 cancers—Hodgkin lymphoma, bladder cancer, head and neck cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma.
“The promise of immunotherapy for cancer therapy has never been greater, and the opportunity to make significant progress in this critical area is real,” said Nancy E. Davidson, MD, president of the AACR and director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in Pennsylvania.
“However, continued progress is going to require a sustained federal commitment to the research agenda. And in fact, if the necessary funding is provided, we will accelerate the pace of progress and, in turn, markedly reduce morbidity and mortality from cancer.”
Growing burden of cancer
The report emphasizes that although advances are being made against cancers, these diseases continue to exert an immense personal and economic toll, and the burden of cancer is expected to grow in the coming decades.
According to the report:
- More than 595,000 people in the US are projected to die from cancer in 2016
- Cancer is the number one cause of disease-related death among US children
- The number of new cancer cases in the US is predicted to rise from 1.7 million in 2015 to 2.4 million in 2035
- It is estimated that the direct medical costs of cancer care in the US in 2010 were nearly $125 billion, and these costs will rise to $156 billion in 2020.
The report states that the increasing economic and personal burden of cancer underscores the need for more research to develop new approaches to cancer prevention and treatment.
The report also highlights the recommendations of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative Blue Ribbon Panel for accelerating the pace of progress in cancer research.
“Research has made tremendous advances against cancer,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD, chief executive officer of the AACR.
“However, we need to accelerate the pace of progress because it is unacceptable that 1 American will die of cancer every minute of every day this year.”
