AACR: Breakthroughs in cancer research require ‘strong federal commitment’

Michael A. Caligiuri

Margaret Foti

Basic research in immunotherapy and precision medicine remains at the forefront of progress in cancer treatment; however, a strong bipartisan commitment from Congress is needed to continue this progress, according to the seventh annual AACR Cancer Progress Report.

“As research has taught us more about the biology of cancer, we have made incredible advances in cancer treatment and prevention that are saving lives today,” AACR president Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and CEO of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, said in a press release. “The opportunity to make more transformational breakthroughs will require a strong federal commitment to providing consistent, annual, above-inflation increases to the budgets for the NIH, NCI and FDA.”

The 2017 report — titled “Harnessing research discoveries to save lives” — provided a snapshot of cancer progress this year and suggested recommendations moving forward to increase public understanding and advocate for increased federal funding.

Research: Best defense against cancer

Cancer research has led to breakthroughs in the screening and detection of cancer, as well as advances in treatment.

“Research continues to be our best defense against cancer,” Caligiuri wrote. “It improves survival and quality of life for people around the world by spurring the development of new and better ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, treat and cure some of the diseases we call cancer.”

The report highlighted the following advances:

The U.S. cancer death rate declined by 35% from 1991 to 2014 for children and by 25% for adults — a reduction that translates into 2.1 million cancer deaths avoided in total;
The FDA approved nine anticancer drugs and eight previously approved drugs for the treatment of various malignances over the last year, in addition to an optical imaging agent to help visualize gliomas and ensure more complete surgical resection; and
Total U.S. adult cigarette consumption has decreased by 38.7% from 2000 to 2015.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for the cancer community,” Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), CEO of AACR, said in the release. “Research has fueled advances across the continuum of cancer care that are saving lives around the world and we have the scientific knowledge and capability to deliver more lifesaving progress in the future.”

The report also highlighted advances made in immunotherapy and precision medicine.

In May, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) for the treatment of patients with any solid tumor harboring specific genetic characteristics. This marked the first anticancer therapeutic approved based on cancer biomarkers rather than the location in the body where the cancer originated.

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As of July 31, the agency approved a total of seven immunotherapies to treat a variety of malignancies.

“As we step further into the era of precision medicine, deepening of our knowledge of the basic molecular underpinnings of cancer will undoubtedly lead to more biomarker-based therapeutics, providing hope for many cancer patients who are awaiting more effective treatment options,” the report said.

Ongoing challenges

Despite these advances, patients continue to face personal and economic tolls associated with cancer diagnoses.

Also, progress has failed to benefit certain segments of the population.

“This is unacceptable and it is imperative that all stakeholders in the research community work together to more fully understand the reasons for cancer health disparities and then immediately develop and implement plans to eliminate them,” the report said.

Challenges highlighted in the report include that:

More than 600,920 people in the United States are projected to die of cancer in 2017;
The number of new cases of cancer in the United States is predicted to rise from 1.7 million in 2017 to 2.3 million in 2030;
HPV vaccination could prevent nearly all cases of cervical cancer, but only 63% of girls and less than 50% of boys had received at least one dose of HPV vaccine in 2015; and
It is estimated that the direct medical costs of cancer care in the United States in 2014 totaled nearly $87.6 billion; this number — which does not include the indirect costs of lost productivity due to cancer-related morbidity and mortality — stands in stark contrast to the budget that the NIH received that same year, which was $30.1 billion.

Increasing economic and personal burden associated with cancer care warrants further research to develop new approaches to prevention and treatment, according to the report.

Federal investment

Bipartisan support from Congress — in the form of robust, sustained and predictable increases to the NIH, NCI and FDA — is “vital to accelerate the pace of progress against cancer and save more lives from this devastating collection of diseases,” according to the report.

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For fiscal year 2018, AACR called upon Congress to:

Continue to support robust, sustained and predictable growth of the NIH budget by providing a $2 billion increase for NIH, for a total funding level of $36.2 billion;
Ensure fully appropriated funding designated through the 21st Century Cures Act for initiatives and programs, such as the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot and the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence;
Increase the FDA budget to $2.8 billion — an $80 million increase above its 2017 level — to ensure support for regulatory science and to accelerate the pace of development of safe and effective medical products; and
Negotiate a bipartisan budget deal to raise the discretionary budget caps for 2018 and beyond.

“Given that in fiscal year 2016 and 2017, the NIH received from Congress its first consecutive, significant funding increases in more than a decade, it is clear that there is also a strong, bipartisan commitment to invest in cancer research and biomedical science on Capitol Hill at a level required to realize the goal of defeating cancer sooner,” Caligiuri said.

Foti also lauded the AACR’s effort for a bipartisan commitment from Congress.

“The AACR is heartened by the strong, bipartisan commitment from Congress to invest in cancer research and biomedical science,” she said. “We are committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure that the current momentum is sustained and to expedite the next breakthroughs against cancer.” – by Kristie L. Kahl

Reference:

American Association for Cancer Research. AACR Cancer Progress Report 2017. Clin Cancer Res. 2017;http://www.cancerprogressreport.org/.