TUESDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Although significant progress has been made in treating cancer, more than 1.6 million Americans are projected to receive a cancer diagnosis in 2013, according to the third American Association for Cancer Research's Cancer Progress Report 2013.
Charles L. Sawyers, M.D., from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues discuss progress that has been made in cancer research and the status of cancer in 2013.
According to the report, from 1990 to 2012, 1,024,400 cancer-patient lives were saved. The number of cancer survivors increased from three million in 1971 (one in 69) to 13.7 million in 2012 (one in 23). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 11 new drugs, three new uses for previously approved drugs, and three new imaging technologies, from Sept. 1, 2012, to July 31, 2013. Despite this progress, in 2013, more than 1.6 million Americans are projected to receive a cancer diagnosis, and more than 580,350 are predicted to die of the disease. Cancer will account for nearly one in four deaths. More than half of cancers are related to preventable causes, including tobacco use, obesity and overweight, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition. Cancer is the most costly disease to the United States.
"We continue to make research count for patients by saving and enhancing the quality of many lives," Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D., chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, said in a statement. "Investing more in cancer research now is an investment in America."
More Information
