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June-Common Cancers
June 5, 2011 is National Cancer Survivor’s Day. According to the National Cancer Institute, five-year survival for cancer patients is rising. In 1975-79 the 5-year survival rate was 50%. By 2002 (the most recent data available) survival rose to 68.5%.[i]
These survival gains are seen across cancer types. Between 1975 and 2002, 5-year survival went up 20% for women with breast cancer, 48% for men with prostate cancer, 35% for patients with colon and rectum cancer, and 35% for lung and bronchus cancer.[ii]
As outcomes continue to improve, the use of new medicines is playing a large role in achieving better results. Since 1980 life expectancy for cancer patients has increased about 3 years and 83% of those gains are attributable to new treatments, including medicines.[iii] Another study found that medicines specifically account for 50-60% of increases in survival rates since 1975.[iv]
Cancer death rates began to fall for the first time in the 1990s and are continuing to decline. According to a new report from the National Cancer Institute, between 2003 and 2007 death rates fell an average of 1.6% per year. According to the report, "These decreases indicate real progress in cancer control, reflecting a combination of primary prevention, early detection, and treatment."[v]
Despite these promising advances, cancer remains the number two cause of death in the United States, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 deaths.[vi] President Obama has called for a cure for cancer in our lifetime, and patients and their families are looking for more and even better treatments. America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are responding to this challenge. Learn more in the resources below about innovative research taking place and promising new treatments on the horizon.
New Medicines in Development
Biopharmaceutical researchers are now working on 887 medicines for cancer. Many are high-tech weapons to fight the disease, while some involve innovative research into using existing medicines in new ways.
The medicines in development—all in either clinical trials or under Food and Drug Administration review— include among others 98 for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and 91 for breast cancer, which is expected to strike more than 200,000 American women each year. The medicines in development also include 80 for prostate cancer, which is expected to kill more than 32,000 American men each year, and 55 for colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in both men and women in this country.
» Read more about New Medicines in Development for Cancer
Video
» View more videos from the library at Innovation.org
Progress Against Cancer
We have made great strides in the war on cancer. Overall, life expectancy has increased and more patients are able to defeat their cancer. New medicines are playing an increasingly important role in achieving these gains. Even more promising treatment gains are on the horizon – many researchers believe we are in the midst of a revolution in cancer treatment that offers great hope for patients in need of new options.
» Read more about Progress Against Cancer
Featured Studies and Reports
As part of its ongoing effort to encourage new research and pharmaceutical innovation, Innovation.org highlights key studies and reports into critical disease areas. Read about recent research in common cancers in the reports below.
» View more featured studies & reports
Innovation Insights
Innovation.org publishes Innovation Insights, a newsletter that highlights new and innovative research in many disease areas, including cancer. Click on the links below to view past newsletters spotlighting cancer research.
» Read more issues of Innovation Insights
Charts
The following charts demonstrate the important role of new medicines in improving life for patients with common cancers.
» View more charts from the library at Innovation.org
Stories of Innovation – Discoverers Awards
Each year, PhRMA honors pharmaceutical research scientists whose research and development of new medicines have greatly benefited humankind, and whose dedication and interest in improving the quality of life exemplify the best in the research industry with the Discoverers Award.
The Story of Gardasil®
The 2010 Discoverers Award went to Eliav Barr, Ph.D., Barry Buckland, Ph.D., and Kathrin Jansen, Ph.D. for their contributions to the discovery of Gardasil®, the second prophylactic cancer vaccine ever and the very first vaccine against cervical cancer. The discovery of Gardasil was a major breakthrough—in the estimation of many "the top medical advance for 2006." It represented a major paradigm shift in medical practice, as well as a major public health achievement.
The Story of Gleevec®
The 2004 Discoverers Award went to Elisabeth Buchdunger, Ph.D. and Juerg Zimmerman, Ph.D. for their contributions to the discovery of Gleevec®, a groundbreaking drug for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). What makes this drug both powerful and gentle is that it focuses on disrupting one specific protein that causes the cancer. This specificity allows the medicine to be strong, while sparing other enzymes, resulting in vastly reduced side effects and better chances of survival.
» Read more about the Discoverers Awards recipients since 1987
Additional Resources
Recent FDA Approvals
- Halaven™ – eribulin mesylate (approved 11/15/2010)
For the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer who have previously received at least 2 chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer
- Jevtana® Kit – cabazitaxel (approved 6/17/2010)
For the treatment of advanced, hormone-refractory, prostate cancer that has worsened during or after treatment with docetaxel; to be used in combination with prednisone
- Provenge® – sipuleucel-T (approved 4/29/2010)
For the treatment of aysymptomatic or minimally symptomatic prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and is resistant to standard hormone treatment
- Istodax® – romidepsin (approved 11/5/2009)
For the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
- Arzerra™ – ofatumumab (approved 10/26/2009)
For the treatment of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
- Votrient™ – pazopanib (approved 10/19/2009)
For the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.
- Cervarix® – human papillomavirus vaccine (types 16 and 18), recombinant (approved 10/16/2009)
For the prevention of cervical neoplasia and cervical cancer associated with human papillomavirus.
- Folotyn™ – pralatrexate injection (approved 9/24/2009)
For the treatment of relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
- Afinitor® – everolimus (approved 3/30/2009)
For the treatment of advanced kidney cancer in patients whose cancer has progressed after other treatments.
Medicines in Development Database
Visit our Medicines in Development Database for more information about drugs currently in clinical trials or at FDA for review across all diseases.
Clinical Trials Resources
Visit our Clinical Trials Resources page to learn more about ongoing clinical trials for cancer and many other diseases in the United States and around the world.
Introduction to Breast Cancer
Learn more about breast cancer, the second most common form of cancer among women after skin cancer, including specific treatments and progress in current research.
Introduction to Leukemia
Learn more about leukemia, cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and new treatments that have greatly improved cure rates and remission periods for patients with leukemia.
Patient Perspectives
Today there are treatments for breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers that greatly ease the burden for those living with the disease and increase survival rates. Read one patient’s story about living with breast cancer and learn how advances in treatments impact patient lives.
[i]National Cancer Institute, Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results, Fast Stats: An interactive tool for access to SEER cancer statistics, Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute, http://seer.cancer.gov/faststats. accessed 1 May 2011.
[ii]National Cancer Institute, Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results, Fast Stats: An interactive tool for access to SEER cancer statistics, Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute, http://seer.cancer.gov/faststats. accessed 4 April 2011.
[iii]E. Sun, et al., "The Determinants of Recent Gains in Cancer Survival: An Analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database," Journal of Clinical Oncology, May 2008 Suppl (Abstract 6616).
[iv]F. Lichtenberg, "The Expanding Pharmaceutical Arsenal in the War on Cancer," NBER Working Paper 10328, February, 2004.
[v]B.A. Kohler, et al., "Annaul Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2007, Featuring Tumors of the Brain and Other Nervous System," Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online, 31 March 2011, http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/03/31/jnci.djr077.full.pdf+html?sid=b29b2a49-ab18-4fa3-9a12-06d82a225715
[vi]National Cancer Institute, Cancer Facts & Figures, 2010, http://www.cancer.org/Research/CancerFactsFigures/CancerFactsFigures/cancer-facts-and-figures-2010. accessed 1 June
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