More than 50 years after then-US President Richard Nixon declared a “war on cancer,” the world is largely winning that battle. The age-adjusted cancer death rate has fallen since the 1990s, signaling a “steady but successful war of attrition,” The Economist wrote.
Progress has come through thousands of small advances in screening and treatment: Childhood leukemia had a five-year survival rate of about 60% in 1975; now it’s about 90% in the US. Successes in prevention, largely overlooked, have been especially critical. Declining smoking rates have prevented millions of lung cancer deaths, experts say.
Cheaper and more widely available medication will be central to future progress: India is undertaking a mass HPV vaccination campaign that is forecast to reduce cervical cancer rates.
