President Obama shined the national spotlight on cancer research,
announcing a new White House Task Force dedicated to finding a cure for
this disease. Since February 4 is World Cancer Day,
it’s the perfect occasion to look back on what we’ve accomplished in
the field of cancer research, and look forward toward the next generation
of cancer therapy.
The good news is that early detection, early prevention, and
innovative treatments have led to a 23% decline in the cancer death rate
over the last two decades. With more powerful, less toxic, and
increasingly individualized therapies, more and more people are able to
stop saying “I’m a cancer patient” and start saying “I’m a cancer
survivor.”
Even more promise lies in highly personalized therapies that use
patients’ genes to tailor their treatment. Vaccine therapies are also
gaining momentum, as is CAR-T cell therapy, which modifies patients’ T
cells so they can recognize and attack cancer cells. Each in different
stages of development, these areas of study need additional funding so
doctors can perfect treatments and save more lives.
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