AACR Issues 2013 Cancer Progress Report
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its Cancer Progress Report 2013 today. And while there is much to celebrate in the significant progress made in cancer research—which has led to more effective therapies for the more than 200 types of cancer and increased survivorship—there are also sobering data showcasing the devastating impact severe budget cuts are having on continued research advances.
According to the report, investments in cancer research and biomedical science are transforming cancer care and have resulted in:
- More than 1 million fewer cancer deaths since 1990 and 1991 for men and women, respectively.
- An increase in the number of cancer survivors. The latest data show that 13.7 million U.S. survivors were alive on January 1, 2012.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of 11 new cancer drugs, three new uses for previously approved cancer drugs, and three new imaging technologies in the past year.
- The advancement in precision medicine with nearly half of the new anticancer drugs approved by the FDA in 2013 targeting specific defects in cancers.
- The development of anticancer immunotherapies that are yielding long-lasting patient responses.
Despite these advances, however, it is projected that more than 1.6 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year and more than 580,350 Americans will die from their disease, said the report. Globally, cancer incidence is expected to rise from 12.8 million new cases in 2008 to 22.2 million in 2030. More than 75% of cancer diagnoses occur in people aged 55 and older, a segment of the population that is expected to rise, noted the report. As a result, cancer-related deaths will also increase, making cancer the number one disease-related killer of Americans—a trend that is being mirrored globally.
Cancer Prevention
More than 50% of the 580,350 expected cancer deaths this year are related to preventable causes, said the report. Included among the preventable causes are smoking, obesity, poor diet, lack of physical activity, exposure to ultraviolet radiation either through the use of tanning beds or direct sun exposure, and noncompliance with interventions that treat or prevent infectious causes of cancer.
Modifying these personal behaviors could have a significant impact on reducing cancer risk, noted the report.
Funding Crises
According to the report, budgets for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have been steadily declining since 2003, resulting in about a 20% reduction in the ability of the NIH and the NCI to support lifesaving research. The agencies’ financial situation was made worse earlier this year when the NIH was forced to absorb $1.6 billion in direct budget cuts and the NCI’s budget was slashed by $293 million after sequestration went into effect.
The result is that the NIH is funding the lowest number of research projects since 2001. Unless Congress takes action, sequestration will result in an overall reduction to the NIH budget of $19 billion by 2021.
In a statement, Charles L. Sawyers, MD, President of the AACR and Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said, “One person will die of cancer every minute of every day this year. This is unacceptable. If we are to accelerate the pace of progress toward our goal, we must continue to pursue a comprehensive understanding of the biology of cancer. This will only be possible if we make funding for cancer research and biomedical science a national priority. This includes investing in the talent, tools, and infrastructure that drive innovation, as well as advancing policies that enable researchers to more completely understand the complexities of cancer and to translate that knowledge for the benefit of patients.”
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
