Conclusion

Since 2011, the annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Cancer Progress Report has captured the incredible advances against cancer, and disseminated this knowledge to the American public, policymakers, and the scientific community. As highlighted in the 14 editions of the report, countless patients with cancer have benefited from the breathtaking pace of progress against cancer. One measure of this progress is 4.1 million cancer deaths averted between 1991 and 2021. To maintain and accelerate this momentum, researchers are continually leveraging scientific discoveries and technological innovations to deliver lifesaving therapeutics for patients with cancer.

The unprecedented advances against cancer documented in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024 and the prior editions stem from the dedicated work of numerous individuals, cancer-focused organizations, and government agencies across the cancer care continuum and can be attributed to the bipartisan and steadfast support of Congress. Among the major advances highlighted in this report is the first ever FDA approval of a new type of cellular immunotherapy in which researchers harness immune cells naturally capable of infiltrating tumors to treat patients with advanced melanoma. Overall, between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, the time period covered by the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024, FDA approved 15 new anticancer therapeutics and expanded the use of 15 previously approved anticancer drugs to treat new types of cancer.

The pace of development and approval of novel therapies specifically designed for childhood cancers has accelerated in recent years. These include targeted therapies that home in on the genetic mutations driving cancer growth. As a result, we are witnessing remarkable improvement in the 5-year relative survival rate for children with cancer, which has risen from 58 percent for those diagnosed in the mid-1970s to 85 percent for those diagnosed between 2013 and 2019.

The progress against cancer highlighted in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024 is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary collaborations among all stakeholders deeply committed to improving public health and maintaining our nation’s status as a beacon of innovative cancer science and medicine. This collaborative drive also provides the foundation to overcome the many challenges that remain, such as disparities in the burden of cancer and access to care experienced by medically underserved segments of the US population.

The future of cancer science and medicine is promising. The return on US taxpayers’ investments in medical research over the past two decades has been astronomical. But the medical research community depends on the unwavering and historically bipartisan congressional support to maintain the momentum of progress against cancer and capture the unprecedented moment ahead of us. Lifting the caps on federal domestic spending and providing robust, sustained, and predictable funding for medical research are critical to maintain the pace of progress against cancer for the benefit of all patients living with the disease.