Photo courtesy of the FDA
Despite recent progress in the fight against cancers, these diseases continue to exert “an immense toll” in the US, according to the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2015.
The report highlights the recent approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of several anticancer therapies, a vaccine, and 2 diagnostic aids.
But the report also includes data suggesting that cancer cases, and costs related to cancer care, are on the rise.
The report states that, between Aug. 1, 2014, and July 31, 2015, the FDA approved 9 anticancer therapies, either for the first time or for new indications.
During the same period, the FDA approved a new cancer vaccine, a new cancer screening test, and a new use for a previously approved imaging agent.
| Cancer-related products approved from Aug. 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015 | |
| Drug | Approved indication |
| bevacizumab (Avastin) | cervical, ovarian, fallopian
tube, and peritoneal cancers |
| blinatumomab (Blincyto) | acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
| denosumab (Xgeva) | potentially lethal complication
of advanced cancers |
| dinutuximab (Unituxin) | neuroblastoma |
| gefitinib (Iressa) | lung cancer |
| ibrutinib (Imbruvica) | Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia |
| lenvatinib (Lenvima) | thyroid cancer |
| nivolumab (Opdivo) | melanoma, lung cancer |
| olaparib (Lynparza) | ovarian cancer |
| palbociclib (Ibrance) | breast cancer |
| panobinostat (Farydak) | multiple myeloma |
| pembrolizumab (Keytruda) | melanoma |
| ramucirumab (Cyramza) | colorectal and lung cancers |
| sonidegib (Odomzo) | skin cancer |
| Imaging agent | Approved indication |
| technetium 99m tilmanocept
(Lymphoseek) |
lymphatic mapping in solid tumors |
| Vaccine | Approved indication |
| human papillomavirus
9-valent vaccine (Gardasil 9) |
cervical, vulvar,
vaginal, and anal cancers |
| Screening test | Approved indication |
| Cologuard (no generic name) | colorectal cancer |
Despite these advances, cancers continue to exert personal and economic tolls, according to the report.
It states that cancer is the number 1 cause of disease-related death among US children. And more than 589,000 people in the US are projected to die from cancer in 2015.
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.
In addition, estimates suggest the direct medical costs of cancer care in the US in 2010 were nearly $125 billion, and these costs are predicted to rise to $156 billion in 2020.
These data underscore the need for more research to develop new approaches to cancer prevention and treatment, according to the report.
Its authors call for Congress and the administration to provide the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, and FDA with annual funding increases.
“We have made spectacular progress against cancer, which has saved the lives of millions of individuals in the United States and around the world,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD, chief executive officer of the AACR.
“However, without increased federal funding for cancer research, we will not be able to realize the promise of recent discoveries and technological advances.”
