Some types of metastatic cancer can be cured with combination chemotherapy.
The cure rate for
childhood cancers
is 80%.The cure rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia is now about 80%. Wilm’s tumor, a cancer of the kidneys, is cured about 90% of the time. Hodgkin’s lymphoma in kids is cured 91% of the time. The five-year survival rate for metastatic
testicular cancer is 96%. However, chemotherapy is frequently accompanied by harsh
side effects and potentially
serious toxicity.
Most common types of metastatic cancers are often incurable
The five-year relative survival rate for all types of cancers is currently only 64%.
Click here to see an NCI graph of survival rates for all types of cancer.
Over 3.6 million “cancer survivors” are expected to die from cancer
There are currently 10 million people who are
cancer survivors living with a diagnosis of cancer. Approximately 36% will die from their disease unless there are major advances in cancer therapy.
There has been little improvement in cancer death rates over the last 30 years
In the last thirty years there has been very little
improvement in the
annual
age-adjusted cancer
death rates. This statistic integrates
all progress in cancer including prevention, early
detection, surgery, cancer chemotherapy, radiation
therapy, immunotherapy and access to medical care.
It provides the bottom line result. The most recent data
from the NCI for both sexes combined are
shown below:
Additional data from
the NCI can be obtained by
clicking here and
here.
Smoking and cancer deaths
The adverse impact of smoking is so significant, that
if cancers
attributable to smoking were omitted from the statistics then between 1950 and 1998, there would have been a 31% decrease in the death rate from cancer.
Cancer and age
There has been a steep reduction in the
cancer death rate in the age range of 20 to 54. However, the rate of cancer skyrockets after about age 54.
Click here to see an NCI graph of cancer incidence versus age.
We are not winning the “War on Cancer”
Over the last thirty years society has invested
almost $200 billion on cancer research. Progress has
been made. Much has been learned. However, it is an
objective fact that most types of metastatic cancer
remain all too frequently incurable. Clifton Leaf’s
excellent overview of the problem in Fortune magazine is
on point.
Why We're Losing the
War on Cancer — and How to Win It.
What will it take to cure cancer without serious side effects?
Why do 570,000 Americans still die each year of cancer? Why has cancer been such an intractable problem? What is required to cure cancer? These and other issues are analyzed in this website.
