People are optimistic about their chances of surviving cancer, according to a poll conducted in the United States and five other wealthy nations.
Among respondents in all six countries, 48% said they did not believe that cancer always leads to death, while 32% said they see cancer as a death sentence; the remainder did not know or didn’t have an opinion. Those polled in the United States had the sunniest outlook. About 65% of U.S. respondents said they do not believe that cancer always leads to death.
The survey, which was commissioned by Lilly Oncology, polled the general public, cancer patients, and caregivers in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, on their knowledge and attitudes about cancer. The telephone survey included responses from 4,341 adults, with 3,009 from the general public, 663 from cancer patients, and 669 from caregivers.
The finding that the public sees cancer as a disease that can be beat was both surprising and encouraging, Newton F. Crenshaw, vice president of Lilly Oncology, said during a press briefing Jan. 30.
"We know that there have been important advances in cancer care across the varieties of cancer." Mr. Crenshaw said. "But in many cases, we’re seeing cancer not become a death sentence, but move more toward a chronic disease, something that can be managed over time."
While patients may be optimistic, they aren’t always well informed about the disease or what goes into producing treatments.
For example, a sizable minority (43%) across the six countries surveyed said they think that cancer is a single disease; 51% correctly answered that cancer is many different diseases that can appear in different parts of the body.
The public also tends to underestimate the time and money required to bring new cancer drugs to the market.
On average, across the six countries surveyed, 44% of respondents said they believe it takes less than 10 years to bring a cancer drug to market, 28% think that it takes exactly 10 years, and only 18% said that it takes more than 10 years. In fact, industry experts say that it takes on average 10-15 years to bring a new drug to market and that many fail during the process.
The same is true with the cost. Two-thirds or more in each country surveyed underestimated the cost of bringing a new cancer drug to the marketplace, she said. For instance, in the United States, 74% of those surveyed said that it costs $100 million or less to develop a new cancer drug, while industry estimates put that figure closer to $1.2 billion.
But the public has a "relatively nuanced understanding" of how cancer treatment works, the survey found. About 62% of the public across the six countries surveyed said that cancer medication results can differ by individual, even when patients have similar diagnoses.
When it comes to clinical trials to test new medicines, the public appears willing to participate, especially if it will give them better access to treatments. For instance, in the United States, 74% of respondents said they would participate in a clinical trial if it would improve the hope of receiving life-extending treatment. Seventy-two percent said they would participate if it would improve the likelihood of helping future patients. But willingness to take part in a clinical trial declined when it became inconvenient or costly, according to the survey results.