The Nation's Investment in Cancer Research
A Plan and Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2008
Prepared by the Director, National Cancer Institute as mandated by The National Cancer Act (P.L. 92-218)
Cancer in America —
What the Statistics Tell Us
Although the nation's investment in cancer research is making a difference in the lives of Americans every day, cancer remains one of our most urgent health concerns and the disease many fear most. The lifetime risk for developing cancer is one in two for men, and one in three for women. Nearly 1.4 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year and more than a half million people will die of the disease. In 2005, the economic burden of cancer to the nation was estimated to be over $200 billion.
Progress has been made toward our goal of reducing the many types of cancer burden in the United States. Overall cancer mortality continues the gradual decline that began in the early 1990s. The number of deaths from some of the most common cancers—colorectal, breast, and prostate—continues to decrease. These trends reflect effective prevention and risk reduction interventions, better screening and early detection methods, and improved treatment and medical management.
Today, approximately 10 million people are alive with a history of cancer, and with a better quality of life than was possible years ago. More than two-thirds of people diagnosed with cancer can expect to live for five years or longer. For children diagnosed with cancer, five-year overall survival exceeds 75 percent. Increasingly, with new imaging techniques and the identification of novel biomarkers, we are finding cancers at earlier, more curable stages, and are able to predict clinical outcomes. Improved diagnostic tools are advancing individualized, tailored therapy, while newly discovered molecular targets are transforming the way we develop interventions.
NCI Tracks Cancer Trends and Progress:
Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer
First issued in 1998, this publication is a collaborative effort of the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NCI, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). The publication provides updated information on cancer rates and trends in the United States. NCI's SEER databases are a major source of information.
This is a biannual NCI electronic publication about our nation's progress against cancer, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, life after cancer, and end of life. The information is gathered through a collaborative effort with other key agencies and groups, such as CDC and the ACS. The report was first issued in 2001 and will be updated again in 2007.
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program
The NCI SEER program currently collects and publishes cancer incidence and survival data from 14 population-based cancer registries and three supplemental registries covering approximately 26 percent of the U.S. population.
The NCI Cancer Bulletin is a weekly online publication that provides updates on NCI activities, the research and clinical trials funded by the Institute, and other activities of both the U.S. and international cancer communities.
