cancer research annual report and accounts

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Read our Annual report and accounts 2022/23

See how far we’ve come and discover how your support is powering progress.  

Download the report

We want to bring about a world where everybody lives longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. And thanks to your support, we’re able to fund some of the world’s best scientists to carry out cutting-edge research that saves and improves lives every day. In this report, you can read about the progress we’ve made together this year and how we spent the money we received to achieve it. You can download the report but if you’re looking for a quick summary of where your support goes, this page has got you covered.

We can only achieve our mission to beat cancer thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, volunteers and partners. 

In 2022/23, we raised a total of £719m. This includes:  

£490m from fundraising, including £261m in legacies 

£127m from trading activities such as our shops 

£9m from our portfolio of investments 

£93m from royalties and grants, including our share of sales from innovations developed from our research. 

Our expenditure

Every pound is important. That’s why we carefully decide where best to spend our money to power progress for people affected by cancer.

In 2022/23, our annual expenditure was £641m. This includes:

• £398m committed to research

• £27m on information and influencing work

• £109m raising donated income and managing our investments

• £107m running our shops and other trading activity.

Our world-leading research

The amount we spend varies year to year as we don’t allocate all our resources ahead of time.

In 2022/23, we committed £398m to cancer research. Some of this will be paid out this year, and some of it will be paid out in future years during the life of the research projects we’ve committed to.

This year, we spent £415m on cancer research. This includes money we committed to in previous years but paid out this year, as well as money paid out to new projects we committed  to this year.

We are beating cancer step by step, year by year.

The progress we've made

Your support and the world-class research we fund today will lead to discoveries that can be turned into new tests and treatments in the future, just as the research we funded many years ago is saving and improving lives today.

Thank you for making breakthroughs happen.  

Discover our achievements

Our annual research activity

In 2022/23, we spent £415m on new and ongoing research. This includes: 

£176m on research projects focused on specific cancer types 

£89m relevant to all types of cancer (eg research infrastructure and research studies looking at cancer survivorship)  

£83m on basic research understanding the fundamental biology of cancer  

£40m on research admin and support costs (eg peer review, grant management, IT and other support costs) 

£27m on revenue shares (share of royalties from sales of innovations developed from our research, which we passed on to others) 

In 2022/23, we spent £18.7m on research specific to cancers that affect 0–24-year-olds, making us the biggest charitable funder of research into children’s and young people’s cancers. 

Our annual spend on specific cancer type research

In 2022/23 we spent £176m on research projects focused on specific cancer types. Here’s how that breaks down for spend per cancer type.

Pence in the pound

In 2022/23, for every £1 you donated, 82p was available to beat cancer. The amount available varies from year to year, but we aim to keep it around the 80p mark.

We don’t include our trading activities in this calculation, as our shops operate like other retail businesses, raising funds through selling merchandise. This also shows you the impact of your donations and means you can easily compare us with other charities that don’t have retail shops.

Chief Executive and staff salaries

We know it’s important for you to know how we spend your donations. We’re transparent in all areas of our work.  

Our Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell OBE, was paid £254,900 base salary between April 2022 and March 2023. 

As the world’s leading cancer charity, dedicated to saving lives through research, influence and information, we need to attract and retain high-performing people. The salaries we pay reflect individual responsibilities and performance, whilst ensuring the best use of your donations. 

We employ people to help us achieve our vision of a world where everyone can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. For a more detailed breakdown of staff pay, please see page 141 of our  Annual Report and Accounts .(PDF).

More information

Teams of experts collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, along with the research community, to translate scientific discoveries into cutting-edge therapies. Find out more about how we partner with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies here.

The host institution list is an analysis of grant costs by host institution which forms part of our audited accounts.

Some of our scientists serve on our grant-making committees and lead research projects that receive grant funding from Cancer Research UK during the year.

Our previous annual reports

Explore  CRI’s 2023 Cancer Research Impact

2023 Annual Report

Advancing the Next Wave of Immunotherapy

2023 Annual Report of the Cancer Research Institute

In recent decades, the number of people dying from cancer in the U.S. has declined by almost one-third thanks to breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy research; a statistic that translates into hope and relief for patients and their families. Now in our 70th year, the Cancer Research Institute takes great pride in our pivotal role in advancing cancer treatment.

• From CRI’s Leadership
• CRI’s 2023 Funding Programs
• Significant 2023 Awards
• Donor Listing
• Financial Highlights
• Governance and Guidance

The 2023 Annual Report of the Cancer Research Institute

Generous support from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors makes possible our work to advance lifesaving science leading to A Future Immune to Cancer™

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Progress Against Cancer in 2021

AACR Annual Meeting 2021

Scientific Publishing

AACR International

Honoring Scientific Achievement

AACR Project GENIE®

Science and Education

Scientific Review and Grants Administration

Policy and Advocacy

AACR Foundation

Financial Statement

• The AACR in 2022: A Look Ahead

We are pleased to present the 2021 Annual Report of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The report highlights the AACR’s progress over the past year in support of our mission—to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, research funding, and science policy and advocacy.

read full letter

Left to right: 2021–2022 AACR President David A. Tuveson, MD, PhD, FAACR; AACR Chief Executive Officer Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc); and 2020–2021 AACR President Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The AACR in 2022: A Look Ahead

• The AACR and COVID-19
• Fighting Racial Inequities and Health Disparities
• Progress Against Cancer in 2020
• AACR Annual Meeting 2020
• Scientific Publishing
• AACR International
• Honoring Scientific Achievement
• Science and Education
• Scientific Review and Grants Administration
• Policy and Advocacy
• AACR Foundation
• Financial Statement
• The AACR in 2021: A Look Ahead

Left to right: Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc); Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, FAACR; Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the AACR:

We are pleased to present the 2020 annual report of the american association for cancer research (aacr). the report highlights the aacr’s progress over the past year in support of our mission—to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, research funding, and science policy and advocacy—despite unprecedented challenges faced this year..

The AACR in 2020: Mission-Driven Through It All

Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc) AACR Chief Executive Officer

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, FAACR AACR President 2019–2020

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR AACR President 2020–2021

THE AACR AND COVID‑19

Annual Reports

The publication of our annual report each years summarizes CRAB’s progress and milestones in fighting cancer—One Clinical Trial at a Time. Within each annual report you will find a Letter from the President, a summary of our research achievements, key highlights, and a comprehensive financial statement. Please contact us if you have questions or would like more information about CRAB’s publications or annual reports.

2022 Annual Report

Download PDF file or view report inline below.

FINAL_CRAB_AR2022_op

• 2021 Annual Report (PDF)
• 2020 Annual Report (PDF)

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Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer deaths continue downward trend; modest improvements in survival for pancreatic cancer

• Posted: October 27, 2022

240-760-6600

Overall cancer death rates continued to decline among men, women, children, and adolescents and young adults in every major racial and ethnic group in the United States from 2015 to 2019, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. From 2014 to 2018, overall cancer incidence, or new cases of cancer, remained stable for men and children but increased for women and adolescents and young adults. This year’s report, published October 27, 2022, in Cancer , also highlights longer-term trends in pancreatic cancer, as well as racial and ethnic disparities in incidence and death rates for many individual cancer sites.

All of the findings in this report are based on data from before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Today’s report is good news in our fight against cancer and is a reminder of the importance of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot℠ initiative,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “I’m deeply impressed by the progress we’re making against cancer and firmly believe we can meet the President’s goal of reducing the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years. We can and must end cancer as we know it.”

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer is a collaborative effort among the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the American Cancer Society (ACS); and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). 

The report is based on a combined cancer incidence data set from NAACCR composed of data collected by CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, as well as mortality data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The report shows that from 2015 to 2019, overall cancer death rates decreased by 2.1% per year in men and women combined. Among men, death rates decreased by 2.3% per year; among women, death rates decreased by 1.9% per year. The annual declines in death rates accelerated from 2001 to 2019 in both men and women.

The declines in death rates were steepest in lung cancer and melanoma (by 4% to 5% per year) among both men and women. Death rates increased for cancers of the pancreas, brain, and bones and joints among men, and for cancers of the pancreas and uterus among women.

“The findings in this year’s Annual Report to the Nation show our ongoing progress against cancer, continuing a more than two-decade trend in declining mortality that reflects improvements in preventing, detecting, and treating cancer,” said Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D., director of NCI. “The advances shown in the report underscore the importance of working together across society to develop effective, equitable approaches to tackle this complex disease. I look forward to working with all our partners in the cancer community to meet these challenges head-on, because people affected by cancer—and that includes all of us—are counting on it.”

The report showed that cancer incidence rates were relatively stable in men and women combined from 2014 to 2018. Among men, incidence rates remained stable during this period, but among women incidence rates rose by 0.2% per year.

Over the same time period, incidence rates increased for three of the 18 most common cancers among men: pancreas, kidney, and testis. Incidence rates in men remained stable for seven of the most common cancers and decreased for the remaining eight cancers. For women, incidence rates increased for seven of the 18 most common cancers: liver, melanoma, kidney, myeloma, pancreas, breast, and oral cavity and pharynx. Incidence rates among women remained stable for four of the most common cancers and decreased for the other seven cancers.

In men, the greatest incidence rate increase was seen in pancreatic cancer, which increased by 1.1% per year, and the steepest incidence rate decrease was seen in lung cancer, which fell by 2.6% per year. In women, melanoma had the steepest increase in incidence, rising by 1.8% per year, and thyroid cancer had the sharpest decrease, falling by 2.9% per year.

“Through funding scientific breakthroughs and raising awareness about prevention and early detection, we are making progress against a subset of the more than 200 diseases we call cancer,” said Karen E. Knudsen, M.B.A, Ph.D., chief executive officer, American Cancer Society. “However, for certain cancer types, concerning trends persist, and durable cures remain elusive for many people. We are committed to improving the lives of all cancer patients and their families, through accelerating research, increasing access to care through advocacy, and by providing direct patient support in communities across the nation, toward the shared goal of eliminating cancer as we know it.”

Among other key findings of this year’s report:  

• Overall cancer incidence rates during 2014 to 2018 were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people, followed closely by non-Hispanic White people and non-Hispanic Black people. Overall cancer incidence rates were lowest among non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander (API) and Hispanic people.
• Incidence rates for all sites combined decreased among non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic API, and Hispanic men, but increased among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic API, non-Hispanic AI/AN, and Hispanic women from 2014 to 2018. Incidence rates were stable among non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic AI/AN men and non-Hispanic Black women.
• Among children younger than age 15, overall cancer death rates decreased from 2015 to 2019, and incidence rates remained stable from 2014 to 2018. Overall cancer incidence rates were stable for non-Hispanic Black children over this period but increased for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic API, non-Hispanic AI/AN, and Hispanic children.
• Among adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 39, overall cancer incidence rates increased by 0.9% per year from 2014 to 2018. The overall cancer death rate decreased by 3.0% per year from 2001 to 2005, but the decline slowed to 0.9% per year from 2005 to 2019.
• The incidence of breast cancer, the most common cancer among adolescents and young adults, increased by an average of 1.0% per year from 2010 to 2018.

The researchers noted that racial and ethnic disparities exist for many individual cancer sites. For example, from 2014 to 2018, incidence rates for bladder cancer declined in non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic API, and Hispanic men but increased among non-Hispanic AI/AN men. Incidence rates for uterine cancer increased among women of every racial and ethnic group from 2014 to 2018 except for non-Hispanic White women, who had stable rates. 

From 2015 to 2019, prostate cancer death rates were stable among non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black men but decreased among non-Hispanic API, non-Hispanic AI/AN, and Hispanic men. Colorectal cancer death rates were stable among non-Hispanic AI/AN men but decreased in men of all other racial and ethnic groups. Among women, death rates for lung, breast, and colorectal cancer decreased in nearly every racial and ethnic group. The exceptions were non-Hispanic API women, among whom breast cancer death rates remained stable, and non-Hispanic AI/AN women, among whom breast cancer death rates increased and colorectal cancer death rates remained stable.

“Factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status should not play a role in people’s ability to be healthy or determine how long they live,” said Lisa C. Richardson, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “CDC works with its public health partners—within and outside the government—to address these disparities and advance health equity through a range of key initiatives, including programs, research, and policy initiatives. We know that we can meet this challenge together and create an America where people are free of cancer.”

This year’s report includes a special focus on trends in pancreatic cancer incidence, death, and survival rates. Although pancreatic cancer accounts for only 3% of new cancer diagnoses, it accounts for 8% of cancer deaths and is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States for both men and women.

From 2001 to 2018, incidence rates of pancreatic cancer increased by 1% per year among both men and women, and from 2001 to 2019, death rates increased by 0.2% per year for both sexes. From 2001 to 2018, incidence rates of two common subtypes of pancreatic cancer, neuroendocrine tumors and adenocarcinomas, increased in both men and women, while unspecified subtypes and other pancreatic tumors decreased.

The report also describes survival improvements by subtype. For example, one-year relative survival of people diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors increased from 65.9% to 84.2% between 2001 and 2017, and for people diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinomas it increased from 24.0% to 36.7%. Five-year relative survival also increased between 2001 and 2013, from 43.4% to 65.2% for people with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and from 4.4% to 6.6% for people with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

These improvements in survival may be associated with improvements in therapy, the researchers said. No improvement was seen for unspecified and other pancreatic tumors, which tended to have a higher proportion diagnosed at older ages than the other types.

The researchers noted that the increases in survival for both adenocarcinomas and neuroendocrine tumors are tempered by the overall increase in the incidence of pancreatic cancer, which is generally attributed to the growing prevalence of obesity. And progress in treating pancreatic adenocarcinomas, which account for 80% of pancreatic cancer cases, remains incremental at best, the researchers said.

“Pancreatic cancer incidence and survival reflect both the underlying risk of disease as well as the difficulty of diagnosing pancreatic cancer at a treatable stage,” said Betsy A. Kohler, M.P.H., NAACCR executive director. “As advancements in screening technology and effective treatments for early-stage disease become available, we are hopeful for greater improvements in pancreatic cancer survival, which historically has been a particularly lethal cancer type.”

For more about the report, see: https://seer.cancer.gov/report_to_nation/ .

About the National Cancer Institute (NCI):  NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIH’s efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at  cancer.gov  or call NCI’s contact center, the Cancer Information Service, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):  NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit  nih.gov .

About the American Cancer Society (ACS):  The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society has been the preeminent cancer-fighting organization in the United States through research, education, advocacy, and patient services. We have helped lead the evolution in the way the world prevents, detects, treats, and thinks about cancer. For more information go to www.cancer.org .

About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):   CDC works 24/7  protecting America’s health, safety, and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

About the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR): The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Inc., is a professional organization that develops and promotes uniform data standards for cancer registration; provides education and training; certifies population-based registries; aggregates and publishes data from central cancer registries; and promotes the use of cancer surveillance data and systems for cancer control and epidemiologic research, public health programs, and patient care to reduce the burden of cancer in North America. For more, see  naaccr.org .

Annual Report and Accounts

PDF download links for all our accounting years.

On this page you will find our Annual Report and Accounts for all our accounting years. We pride ourselves on being open and transparent, if you have any questions relating to these documents or their contents please contact us.

• 2017 - Web version - Print version
• 2018 - Web version - Print version
• 2019 - Web version - Print version
• 2020 - Web version - Print version
• 2021 - Web version - Print version
• 2022 - Web version - Print version

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We start cures for

Reflecting on the past year with our chair, welcome to our 2022 annual report..

Firstly, I’m delighted to share that in 2022 Worldwide Cancer Research funded 30 new research projects worldwide, worth an incredible £6.2 million. That’s almost £1m more than in the previous year, thanks to your generosity and the kindness of all of our Curestarters.

I’m proud to report that the charity is in a strong financial position. By reserving funds and spending cautiously over the past six years, we’ve been able to remain stable through some very challenging times. When you look back, we've also had some pretty existential headwinds to fight against. The cost-of-living crisis, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation - all of these have an impact on charitable giving. Some of our strategic plans had to be delayed as a result, but we can now commit to more research, alongside investing in fundraising, to create sustainability in the long term.

The Curestarters strategy, which unites people who believe no life should be cut short by cancer, is now in place and it is beginning to bear fruit. Over the past year, we saw strong growth in our fundraising income, including regular giving, cash, events and philanthropy. At the same time, we’ve been able to invest in some innovative new research projects. This includes the work of Dr Tomer Cooks in Israel, who has been investigating how cancers spread, and of Dr Loredana Saveanu in France, who is finding ways to make immune cells target cancer cells more effectively, with co-funding from Fondation ARC.

In total, over 70 new scientific advances were published in 2022, thanks to research funded by our Curestarter community.

Every year at our Bold Ideas Gathering, our Scientific Advisory Committee chooses the most innovative projects that they think have the most potential. It’s enormously humbling to have such incredible intellectual horsepower all together on the same day, voluntarily, showcasing projects which capture their imagination in such an energising way. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re here to do: we’re here to fund really exciting, bold projects to start cures for cancer.

We punch above our weight in many respects, and the past year has been no exception to that. One of the most exciting things for me is our ability to collaborate with other charities.

For example, partnering to co-fund research projects, so that we can make our money go further. The charity also recently delivered an innovative new peer review service, utilising the organisation’s rigorous and respected project selection process to generate income.

Meanwhile, the charity has been investing in building its Curestarter community. There’s a lot of great work going on, including a commitment to growing regular giving, which is our lifeblood. Our powerful vision to end cancer by starting new cures worldwide has already attracted 27,000 new supporters.

The charity recognises that it underperforms in legacy giving, however focused effort has created more enquiries and pledges. Meanwhile, there are early signs of growth in the competitive space of trusts and foundations, where the team did exceptionally well, exceeding their targets with a values- matching approach that’s literally paying dividends. This increased investment in fundraising underpins the charity’s 10-year strategy. And while we’re very happy with the increased number of projects we’re funding, it’s still not enough. There are around 120 projects every year that we’re unable to fund, which could have led to new cures.

It is a sad inevitability that 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. By generating greater income, we can deliver sustained, higher levels of research funding and gradually move towards supporting 100 projects per year, providing more opportunities for life-changing developments.

The more research that’s undertaken, the more we can accelerate progress in finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

I can’t close this note without mentioning the fantastic group of people at Team Worldwide, who are 100% committed to our cause and purpose. It’s a small team, with big ambition. And I know that if we can collectively continue to perform as well as we can, then that’s going to make a real difference.

Our vision to end cancer by starting new cancer cures worldwide starts with you. We all want to see an end to cancer, and being a Curestarter is the very first step on that journey.

Yours sincerely,

David Sole OBE Chairman of the Board of Trustees

We are Worldwide Cancer Research and we start cures for cancer

“I try to stay positive, and the more years go by, the more hopeful I am that new treatments and cures will be found. But those breakthroughs can’t happen without funding as much new cancer research as possible.”

Suzanne had just celebrated her 36th birthday when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour the size of a golf ball and given just one year to live. Suddenly everything that she had planned with her husband and two children seemed so far out of reach. Incredibly, Suzanne defied the odds and is still here today. But like many people with cancer, she lives every day knowing that it could be her last.

We are committed to increasing the volume of high-quality discovery research that we fund every year – so that more families like Suzanne’s have more time together.

This report outlines the progress that we have made in 2022 towards a day when no life is cut short by cancer.

Bringing forward cancer discoveries by funding world class research - our 2022 impact.

New research projects

Partnering to start more cures 

We believe working together is key to conquering cancer., of the 30 new projects, 8 are funded jointly with another organisation, helping to make our curestarters’ donations go even further.  .

Guts UK are supporting a project in Cambridge about oesophageal cancer.

Leukaemia UK are helping to fund a project in Edinburgh looking for new ways to treat infant leukaemia.

The French Foundation for Cancer Research (Fondation-ARC) are partnering with us to fund three projects in France.

The Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC-FC) are helping to fund a project in Spain about head and neck cancer.

Cancer Australia are helping to fund two new ideas, one about brain tumours and one focusing on leukaemia.

Working together with other organisations could mean we make big breakthroughs sooner. Thanks to all our partners we hope to end the suffering caused by cancer sooner.

Outputs and breakthroughs

Over 70 new scientific advances were published in 2022 thanks to research funded by our curestarters. this included a number of important breakthroughs that have helped us understand more about cancer:.

Our scientists in Italy discovered a previously unknown way that breast cancer cells survive treatment.

One team of researchers in Spain have found a new way to spot if someone is at higher risk of pancreatic cancer, and even diagnose patients at an early stage of the disease.

Our scientists in Germany discovered that they could prevent head and neck cancer spreading by stopping it from getting the extra energy it needs to do so.

Another team in Spain made a breakthrough that could help treat people with cancer that has spread to the brain.

Scientists in Italy have made a breakthrough that could lead to better, more effective immunotherapy options for cancer patients.

Breakthroughs like these are vital if we hope to see a day when no life is cut short by cancer.

Understanding mantle cell lymphoma - a rare and difficult to treat cancer

Identifying potential targets for new cures through ground-breaking research.

Mantle cell lymphoma develops in blood cells and lymph nodes and, devastatingly, the vast majority of patients cannot be cured. The average survival for mantle cell lymphoma is just 3-5 years. However, there are a small number of patients who have a stable form of the disease and manage without treatment for long periods of time.

Back in 2011, Worldwide Cancer Research funded Dr Beà, a cancer researcher in Spain, who had a bright idea about how to find new cures for mantle cell lymphoma. She wanted to look for the differences in the more stable form of this disease and hoped to reveal more about the molecular and genetic nature of the disease.

“Currently only around 40% of patients with mantle cell lymphoma survive for 5 years or more after diagnosis.”

Dr Beà’s research provided insights into the causes and evolution of this complex type of cancer and identified potential targets for new cures. Ibrutinib is a targeted cancer drug used to treat mantle cell lymphoma but, unfortunately, cancer can often evolve resistance to ibrutinib and the treatment stops working.

Dr Beà's breakthrough helped find ways to overcome this resistance. Her research led to several future discoveries and, most excitingly, to a clinical trial testing a new combination treatment for mantle cell lymphoma. If this extensive patient study is successful, the new approach will hopefully be approved and used to treat many more patients in the future.

All new cancer cures start with discovery research, carried out by researchers like Dr Beà. We know that by funding more world-class researchers who think outside the box, we can stop the suffering caused by cancer - including rarer cancers like mantle cell lymphoma.

“I would like to say to Curestarters that their donations can be instrumental in the early stages of scientific research that otherwise would not even have started.”

Curestarter Fiona’s Story

“i was devastated and didn’t think i would have any future – but a lifesaving new drug gave me hope.”.

Fiona and her husband looked forward to retiring together and often talked about their plans. But out of nowhere Fiona was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, and their lives were turned completely upside down.

“I live with my husband in a lovely village in south Perthshire. We love to go walking together, visit family and friends across the country and, when we can, travel further afield. Another passion of mine is singing – I sing in a local choir and my secret ambition is to perform at an Edinburgh jazz club one day!”

“I worked in the NHS for forty very rewarding years in a huge variety of different roles – as a nurse, a midwife, a health visitor, an occupational health nurse, a researcher, and finally a further education lecturer. I didn’t intend on retiring for at least another four or five years, but sadly I had to take ill-health early retirement when I became unwell. It was a very strange way to finish my career.”

"I was on annual leave when I had the appointment that changed everything."

“I had been experiencing some nagging symptoms, but I was convinced that it would all be down to something very minor that could be easily dealt with – so convinced that I had postponed my appointment for a week, because of our holiday plans.”

“But as soon as I saw the gynaecologist, I knew she suspected something much more serious. A whirlwind of tests followed – an internal ultrasound, blood tests and then a CT scan. My husband and I tried to fill the time waiting for the results by visiting local areas and going for long walks, but my overwhelming memory is of being full of anxiety.”

“Soon it was confirmed – I had ovarian cancer. Then, not long after, a biopsy revealed the cancer was advanced. It was devastating to get that news and we were both so scared. All I could think about was of my experience working in gynaecology and of the people I had met on the ward.”

“I knew all too well how few treatments had been available for ovarian cancer for such a long time, and I had seen far too many patients sent home with the unthinkable knowledge that there were no options left. It was always absolutely devastating to see them leave, knowing that there was nothing more that could be done for them.”

"And now I was facing that same dread and uncertainty. It felt impossible to make any plans for the future because I was convinced that it was a future I wouldn’t be here for."

“I was booked in for surgery just two weeks after the biopsy results, which was a scary prospect as the operation was a major one. Then, after I recovered, I started six months of chemotherapy. I coped with it quite well and remained as positive as I could, but I found it quite traumatic to lose my hair – I’m a redhead, so it was such a big part of my identity. Still, I remember smiling as I entered the chemotherapy unit, as I was so glad to be starting more treatment that would hopefully knock out the cancer cells.”

“Seven weeks after I had completed my chemotherapy, I began taking olaparib. I was considered a good fit for this treatment option as it had been determined that I had the BRCA2 mutation – something that surprised me at the time, as I had no history of breast or ovarian cancer in my family. I remember my oncologist explaining that a clinical trial had very recently shown significant benefits of treatment with olaparib in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.” “It does make me feel very lucky in a way, that my diagnosis happened when it did – after this clinical trial had taken place and olaparib had been approved for use by the NHS. Sadly, I know that for many people, this wasn’t the case. Prior to the development of olaparib and other drugs like it, there had been no real change in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer for decades, and the outlook was grim for most patients.”

“But olaparib was a complete game-changer. It’s been revolutionary for the treatment of ovarian cancer.“

“I have done well on olaparib and incredibly I have now reached a stage where most of the time I can put cancer to the back of my mind. I turned 60 recently and my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. It’s difficult to put into words how extremely grateful I am that I now feel like I have a future.”

“So many people were involved in the development of olaparib, from Professor Steve Jackson and all the scientists carrying out the research, to the Curestarters like you who helped fund it. To every single person, I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have given me more time to live my life, with the people I love – and given me hope for the future."

Diversity and inclusion

Cures start thanks to opportunity without barriers – our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Worldwide Cancer Research was founded with one mission – to conquer cancer – and the charity has always been centred on the inclusive principle that lifesaving cancer research ideas can start anywhere, with anyone.

But we sit within two worlds, the charity sector and the medical research sector, that we know are not diverse enough either in the UK or globally. Cancer affects people of every nationality, ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, level of wealth and state of physical and mental health. Yet neither sector reflects the diversity of the millions of people around the world, including hundreds of thousands of people in the UK, who are diagnosed with cancer every year.*

In 2022 we have been focusing on the promotion of diversity and inclusion in our recruitment and research grant processes, so that we can ensure that our funding and hiring decisions are unbiased and fair. Steps that we have taken have included:

1. Pledging to ‘show the salary’ and reviewing the use of language in all our job descriptions. 2. Actively working towards our gender balance target on our Scientific Advisory Committee. 3. Introducing our new hybrid working policy to help facilitate inclusion. 4. Ramping up our grant round marketing so that more pioneering researchers around the world know about our funding opportunities. 5. Continuously seeking and sharing knowledge and best practice to provide support to our wider team.

This is just the start, and it is something that we will continue to work at every single day. We have a responsibility to ensure that diversity and inclusion is at the heart of our work and everything we do if we truly want to see a day where no life is cut short by cancer. We know that it is actions, not words, that make a difference, and we commit to being open, transparent, and reflective as we continue to work to create meaningful change.

*In 2020 18.1 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide and 409,000 of those were in the UK.

A note from Worldwide Cancer Research’s Diversity & Inclusion Steering Group: 

“Evidence shows that diversity increases creativity and funding exciting and creative cancer research is our priority – because that’s how we will reach a day when no life is cut short by cancer.”

How our Curestarters raised grant funding in 2022

The kindness and generosity of our supporters means the world to us, to our researchers, and to people affected by cancer all around the world..

In 2022 our Curestarters once again stood united by a common purpose to stop cancer by starting new discoveries worldwide. From making a regular gift or playing our Lottery, to taking part in an event or pledging to leave us a gift in their Will - they all helped us to champion discovery research with their Curestarter spirit. While we saw some post-pandemic stability in 2022, the impact of the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis have affected households. This is something we have seen reflected in our donations because we have traditionally had a reliance on individual giving, which means that we can be particularly affected by pressures on household incomes. This reaffirmed the need for us to be ready for the fundraising challenges of the future and for our fundraising strategy to be focused on income diversification, so that we can achieve our objective of growing sustainable net income every year – allowing us to continue to fund more crucial research. By giving more Curestarters more opportunities to support Worldwide Cancer Research in the way that works best for them, we have been able to overcome the challenges we faced in 2022 and together we have been able to overcome the challenges we faced in 2022, achieving a total fundraising income of just over £10m. We brought our fundraising and philanthropy team together for the first time in 2022, committed in our strategy to grow and diversify Curestarter relationships. And as well as continuing to grow our individual giving programme, we also expanded our reach in philanthropy and legacies.

To increase the quality and quantity of discovery research funded globally every year we need to grow income, and this requires a level of investment which we were pleased to be able to undertake in 2022, increasing fundraising expenditure to £3,984,920.

In particular we focused on investment in:

The Collective: We are excited to launch our new giving club for those who are able to donate over £1,000 each year, giving exclusive access to events and insight.

Legacy fundraising: Allowing us to establish long-term relationships with those who are able to leave us a gift in their will. Developing a marketing approach and the skills needed for legacy administration.

Face to face fundraising: enabling us to engage with the public in a compelling way to reach new supporters and increase the numbers of regular givers we can acquire each year.

To every single Curestarter, we can’t thank you enough. We are so grateful for the progress we made together in 2022 and we can’t wait to see what we achieve in 2023.

2022 in numbers

Our dedicated curestarters donated to fund more lifesaving discovery cancer research in 2022, raising over £10 million to start new cures worldwide..

The charity reported strong fundraising income with growth across all key income lines with the exception of legacy income which in 2021 benefited from an an unexpected number of high-value bequests. This performance was delivered despite the challenging fundraising environment, where the cost-of-living crisis presented headwinds in both retaining and recruiting supporters.

Fundraising expenditure

Charitable expenditure increased by 12% to £7.5m (£6.7m in 2021) driven by the increase in the level of new research funded. Fundraising costs in 2022 were £4m, (£3m in 2021) as the charity made significant investment in new supporter acquisition, attracting 27,000 new Curestarters.

Our reserves

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Board of Trustees adopted a conservative and cautious approach to reserves. Reductions in both the number of new research projects funded and operational expenditure in 2020, continued prudence in 2021 and unexpected levels of legacy income in late 2021 resulted in a strong reserves position at the end of 2021.

In planning for 2022, the Board reviewed the strategic approach to reserves and made the decision to commit to higher levels of research funding for the year, and an increased investment in fundraising. This decision was made with a view to securing significantly higher levels of research funding in the medium term.

The Board’s strategy is to continue this approach, running with an annual deficit for the next two to three years. In support of this strategy, the Board has designated £4m of the charity’s reserves to support higher levels of research funding over the next two to three years. Delivery of this strategy, alongside significant unrealised investment losses, reduced the total reserves held by the charity by £3.8m (33%) in 2022

Reserves were split between restricted, designated and general reserves as follows:

• Restricted Reserves £19k (2021: £nil) This represents funds that are subject to restrictions including to specific research projects or cancer types.
• Designated Reserves £4.0m (2021: £nil) This represents unrestricted funds ringfenced by the Directors for future research projects.
• Unrestricted Reserves £3.6m (2021: £11.4m)

These funds are expendable at the discretion of the Directors in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Each year the Directors assess the level of reserves and the use of these funds when the annual budget is prepared and approved.

For more on income, expenditure and reserves, download the full PDF copy of the annual report.

Download a copy of the report (PDF file)

Looking ahead to 2023 with our chief executive, it’s been another incredible year, thanks to you, our curestarter community..

Together we’ve been able to fund 30 new research projects - that’s 20% more groundbreaking research than in the previous year. And by funding more projects, we can potentially start more cancer cures.

Alongside funding even more research, we’ve been developing our organisation strategy, which you will see come to life in the year ahead. We remain focused on our vision, which is to see a day when ‘no life is cut short by cancer’. For me, this sums up what most of us fear about cancer: The fear of losing time or a life that we really should have had. This includes the way cancer turns lives completely upside down. By 2030, cancer will be the world’s leading cause of death.

Worldwide Cancer Research will deliver on its purpose, ‘to stop cancer by starting new discoveries worldwide’, by ambitiously expanding our global search, funding more bold ideas and increasing our impact in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. This means encouraging scientists around the world to keep asking the right questions. Questions that could improve and save countless lives.

Our research strategy is focused on innovation, and there are some exciting and creative ideas emerging. For example, immunotherapy has been part of our portfolio for a very long time and it’s an absolute game-changer. When we began funding immunotherapy, it was very early days, so there was an element of holding our nerve. We are so glad we did, because today, it’s working. In fact, in some cases you can stop giving patients immunotherapy and they continue to be in remission, because you’ve retrained the immune system. And that’s what we want, isn’t it? To actually stop cancer.

It feels like we’re finally in the first full year post pandemic. Like every other organisation, for three years we’ve been on a slightly defensive footing. The great news is that we ended 2022 with a strong cushion of financial reserves that we will invest gradually over the next two to three years. There are still significant risks on the horizon, so we are prudently managing our finances to ensure growth is sustainable long term - because cancer isn’t going away anytime soon. However, we’re ready to start thinking much more proactively about the future of our research programme.

For the past few years we’ve also been steadily building the partnerships side of our work, match-making projects we want to fund, to further our potential impact. For the first time, the upcoming 2023 Grant Round is co-badged with five other charities, and over time, I’d like to see this evolving into something even bigger - perhaps a network funding groundbreaking discovery research worldwide.

We’re also challenging ourselves to scrutinise the impact the charity has made for cancer patients, and one thing we’ve got planned for 2023 is an impact report. I’ve seen some initial data and it’s really, really exciting... So watch this space!

Everyone who supports Worldwide Cancer Research is a Curestarter, and we always strive to keep this community at the heart of the charity, offering many different ways to get involved - from doing an event to leaving a legacy to fund future research. In the past few months we’ve also launched The Collective, our philanthropic giving club, and we look forward to seeing this grow.

While funding for discovery research has declined by 25% in the past 15 years, we know there are still many more essential discoveries to be made. It remains important to diversify our investment and fund as many new projects in as many different fields of cancer research as we can. We allow science to follow where the science leads, by being open-minded, focusing on innovation and never restricting scientists by our own imagination. Discovery is a vital part of the research journey that starts with new ideas in the lab and ends with new cures for cancer, so I thank you wholeheartedly for being a part of it.

Over the year ahead, I hope that you and the rest of the Curestarter community will see ever more clearly the impact that your generous support makes. Together we are creating incredible global change, for people affected by cancer now and in the future

Dr Helen Rippon Chief Executive

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Cancer Research Catalyst The Official Blog of the American Association for Cancer Research

Home > Cancer Research Catalyst > AACR Annual Meeting 2024: A Global View on Cancer 

AACR Annual Meeting 2024: A Global View on Cancer 

With more than 23,200 registrants, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 not only set a record number of registrants but witnessed the highest international participation to date.  

As the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research, the AACR has members in 141 countries and territories around the world and offers numerous opportunities to help investigators in the international community. 

In fact, 62 out of 67 grants at the AACR are open globally including the AACR Scholar-in-Training Awards , the Global Scholar-in-Training Awards (GSITA), Women in Cancer Research (WICR) Scholar Awards , the Beginning Investigator Grant for Catalytic Research (BIG Cat) , and Maximizing Opportunity for New Advancements in Research in Cancer (MONARCA) . Additionally, education and training opportunities include AACR on Campus and several conferences around the world. 

Even domestic conferences like the Annual Meeting provide international researchers with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and new ideas with other scientists dedicated to cancer research. This year’s meeting welcomed more than 8,000 international registrants—representing 36% of participants—from 78 countries and multiple territories.

“We are proud to highlight cutting-edge research from groups of scientists from around the world,” said Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, FAACR , chair of the AACR Global Affairs Committee. “Global collaboration enables strong scientific contributions to research, and we trust that the Annual Meeting provides a platform for researchers globally, to absorb and share new knowledge on emerging research, therapies, and treatment with colleagues and communities at home.”  

The Annual Meeting also offers a platform to shine a light on cancer researchers and journalists through a number of awards with several international attendees among this year’s recipients. We asked a few of these award recipients about their experience attending the meeting and the importance of global collaboration in the conquest of cancer. 

Exploring the International Perspective    

Hellen Shikanda from Kenya became a journalist because she wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. 

“Speaking to people who would not ordinarily get an opportunity to have their stories out there helps in empowering communities that they come from,” Shikanda said. “I have learnt that their stories, if told well, always have an impact on the policies that are enacted after those in leadership positions realize that there has been a gap that urgently needed to be filled.”   

One of her stories was honored with the AACR June L. Biedler Award for Cancer Journalism , which was given to five journalists in four categories. Her article, “New Drug Promises Better Treatment for Cancer Patients,”  relays a patient’s journey through five countries to get properly diagnosed with colon cancer and ultimately find hope for treatment in a clinical trial.  

“I was happy to work on a story that explored clinical trials for a new drug that tackles a specific gene mutation—and the research was done in Africa for the first time,” she explained. “Global collaboration means that there will be funding opportunities for all researchers who can share insights on how they can help defeat cancer.” 

Anshika Chauhan, PhD , from India, is the recipient of one such funding opportunity as one of the many international winners of the AACR-WICR Scholar Awards. This award is given to members of WICR, a constituency group focused on women scientists within the AACR that celebrated its 25th anniversary at the meeting , who are scientists-in-training and presenters of meritorious scientific papers at AACR Annual Meetings. She presented her research on increased mitochondrial DNA copy number via EPOR signaling as a potential mechanism for metastatic dissemination in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. 

“The AACR gives women from different backgrounds, different geographical regions, and different phases of their career the platform to work together, learn from each other, and make a difference in fighting cancer,” Chauhan said. “So, it’s important to welcome women from all over the world into cancer research. By working together and sharing our ideas, we can make a big impact in the fight against this disease.” 

Seifegebriel Feleke Teshome, from Ethiopia, was one of 15 early-career scientists from nine countries who were offered the chance to attend the meeting and present their work as a 2024 GSITA recipient . His poster focused on profiling the CpG methylation patterns of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in lymphoma patients from Ethiopia. 

“During the meeting, numerous scientific researchers and young scientists from different parts of the world gathered to share their findings, achievements, and innovative approaches in cancer research,” he said. “This diverse community of attendees created a vibrant atmosphere conducive to engaging discussions and fruitful interactions.” 

Many of these award recipients will share what they learned about the AACR’s global programs and initiatives with their colleagues back home as they work to overcome the worldwide challenge of cancer through scientific research. 

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Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer deaths continue downward trend; modest improvements in survival for pancreatic cancer

Embargoed Until: Thursday, October 27, 2022, 10:00 a.m. ET Contact:

NCI Press Office : 240-760-6600, [email protected]

ACS Press Office: Michele Money-Carson, 813-240-0954, [email protected]

CDC Press Office : (404) 639-3286, [email protected]

NAACCR : Recinda Sherman, 217-698-0800 ext. 6, [email protected]

Overall cancer death rates continued to decline among men, women, children, and adolescents and young adults in every major racial and ethnic group in the United States from 2015 to 2019, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. From 2014 to 2018, overall cancer incidence, or new cases of cancer, remained stable for men and children but increased for women and adolescents and young adults. This year’s report, published October 27, 2022, in Cancer , also highlights longer-term trends in pancreatic cancer, as well as racial and ethnic disparities in incidence and death rates for many individual cancer sites.

All of the findings in this report are based on data from before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Today’s report is good news in our fight against cancer and is a reminder of the importance of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot℠ initiative,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “I’m deeply impressed by the progress we’re making against cancer and firmly believe we can meet the President’s goal of reducing the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years. We can and must end cancer as we know it.”

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer is a collaborative effort among the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the American Cancer Society (ACS); and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).

The report is based on a combined cancer incidence data set from NAACCR composed of data collected by CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, as well as mortality data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The report shows that from 2015 to 2019, overall cancer death rates decreased by 2.1% per year in men and women combined. Among men, death rates decreased by 2.3% per year; among women, death rates decreased by 1.9% per year. The annual declines in death rate accelerated from 2001 to 2019 in both men and women.

The declines in death rates were steepest in lung cancer and melanoma (by 4% to 5% per year) among both men and women. Death rates increased for cancers of the pancreas, brain, and bones and joints among men, and for cancers of the pancreas and uterus among women.

“The findings in this year’s Annual Report to the Nation show our ongoing   progress against cancer, continuing a more than two-decade trend in declining mortality that reflects improvements in preventing, detecting, and treating cancer,” said Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D., director of NCI. “The advances shown in the report underscore the importance of working together across society to develop effective, equitable approaches to tackle this complex disease. I look forward to working with all our partners in the cancer community to meet these challenges head-on, because people affected by cancer—and that includes all of us—are counting on it.”

The report showed that cancer incidence rates were relatively stable in men and women combined from 2014 to 2018. Among men, incidence rates remained stable during this period, but among women incidence rates rose by 0.2% per year.

Over the same time period, incidence rates increased for three of the 18 most common cancers among men: pancreas, kidney, and testis. Incidence rates in men remained stable for seven of the most common cancers and decreased for the remaining eight cancers. For women, incidence rates increased for seven of the 18 most common cancers: liver, melanoma, kidney, myeloma, pancreas, breast, and oral cavity and pharynx. Incidence rates among women remained stable for four of the most common cancers and decreased for the other seven cancers.

In men, the greatest incidence rate increase was seen in pancreatic cancer, which increased by 1.1% per year, and the steepest incidence rate decrease was seen in lung cancer, which fell by 2.6% per year. In women, melanoma had the steepest increase in incidence, rising by 1.8% per year, and thyroid cancer had the sharpest decrease, falling by 2.9% per year.

“Through funding scientific breakthroughs and raising awareness about prevention and early detection, we are making progress against a subset of the more than 200 diseases we call cancer,” said Karen E. Knudsen, M.B.A, Ph.D., chief executive officer, American Cancer Society. “However, for certain cancer types, concerning trends persist, and durable cures remain elusive for many people. We are committed to improving the lives of all cancer patients and their families, through accelerating research, increasing access to care through advocacy, and by providing direct patient support in communities across the nation, toward the shared goal of eliminating cancer as we know it.”

Among other key findings of this year’s report:

• Overall cancer incidence rates during 2014 to 2018 were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people, followed closely by non-Hispanic White people and non-Hispanic Black people. Overall cancer incidence rates were lowest among non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander (API) and Hispanic people.
• Incidence rates for all sites combined decreased among non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic API, and Hispanic men, but increased among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic API, non-Hispanic AI/AN, and Hispanic women from 2014 to 2018. Incidence rates were stable among non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic AI/AN men and non-Hispanic Black women.
• Among children younger than 15, overall cancer death rates decreased from 2015 to 2019, and incidence rates remained stable from 2014 to 2018. Overall cancer incidence rates were stable for non-Hispanic Black children over this period but increased for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic API, non-Hispanic AI/AN, and Hispanic children.
• Among adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 39, overall cancer incidence rates increased by 0.9% per year from 2014 to 2018. The overall cancer death rate decreased by 3.0% per year from 2001 to 2005, but the decline slowed to 0.9% per year from 2005 to 2019.
• The incidence of breast cancer, the most common cancer among adolescents and young adults, increased by an average of 1.0% per year from 2010 to 2018.

The researchers noted that racial and ethnic disparities exist for many individual cancer sites. For example, from 2014 to 2018, incidence rates for bladder cancer declined in non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic API, and Hispanic men but increased among non-Hispanic AI/AN men. Incidence rates for uterine cancer increased among women of every racial and ethnic group from 2014 to 2018 except for non-Hispanic White women, who had stable rates.

From 2015 to 2019, prostate cancer death rates were stable among non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black men but decreased among non-Hispanic API, non-Hispanic AI/AN, and Hispanic men. Colorectal cancer death rates were stable among non-Hispanic AI/AN men but decreased in men of all other racial and ethnic groups. Among women, death rates for lung, breast, and colorectal cancer decreased in nearly every racial and ethnic group. The exceptions were non-Hispanic API women, among whom breast cancer death rates remained stable, and non-Hispanic AI/AN women, among whom breast cancer death rates increased and colorectal cancer death rates remained stable.

“Factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status should not play a role in people’s ability to be healthy or determine how long they live,” said Lisa C. Richardson, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “CDC works with its public health partners—within and outside the government—to address these disparities and advance health equity through a range of key initiatives, including programs, research, and policy initiatives. We know that we can meet this challenge together and create an America where people are free of cancer.”

This year’s report includes a special focus on trends in pancreatic cancer incidence, death, and survival rates. Although pancreatic cancer accounts for only 3% of new cancer diagnoses, it accounts for 8% of cancer deaths and is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States for both men and women.

From 2001 to 2018, incidence rates of pancreatic cancer increased by 1% per year among both men and women, and from 2001 to 2019, death rates increased by 0.2% per year for both sexes. From 2001 to 2018, incidence rates of two common subtypes of pancreatic cancer, neuroendocrine tumors and adenocarcinomas, increased in both men and women, while unspecified subtypes and other pancreatic tumors decreased.

The report also describes survival improvements by subtype. For example, one-year relative survival of people diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors increased from 65.9% to 84.2% between 2001 and 2017, and for people diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinomas it increased from 24.0% to 36.7%. Five-year relative survival also increased between 2001 and 2013, from 43.4% to 65.2% for people with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and from 4.4% to 6.6% for people with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

These improvements in survival may be associated with improvements in therapy, the researchers said. No improvement was seen for unspecified and other pancreatic tumors, which tended to have a higher proportion diagnosed at older ages than the other types.

The researchers noted that the increases in survival for both adenocarcinomas and neuroendocrine tumors are tempered by the overall increase in the incidence of pancreatic cancer, which is generally attributed to the growing prevalence of obesity. And progress in treating pancreatic adenocarcinomas, which account for 80% of pancreatic cancer cases, remains incremental at best, the researchers said.

“Pancreatic cancer incidence and survival reflect both the underlying risk of disease as well as the difficulty of diagnosing pancreatic cancer at a treatable stage,” said Betsy A. Kohler, M.P.H., NAACCR executive director. “As advancements in screening technology and effective treatments for early-stage disease become available, we are hopeful for greater improvements in pancreatic cancer survival, which historically has been a particularly lethal cancer type.”

For more about the report, see: https://seer.cancer.gov/report_to_nation/ .

About the National Cancer Institute (NCI):  NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIH’s efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at  cancer.gov  or call NCI’s contact center, the Cancer Information Service, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):  NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit  nih.gov .

About the American Cancer Society (ACS):  The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. For more than 100 years, the American Cancer Society has been the preeminent cancer-fighting organization in the United States through research, education, advocacy, and patient services. We have helped lead the evolution in the way the world prevents, detects, treats, and thinks about cancer. For more information go to www.cancer.org .

About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):   CDC works 24/7  protecting America’s health, safety, and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

About the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR): The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Inc., is a professional organization that develops and promotes uniform data standards for cancer registration; provides education and training; certifies population-based registries; aggregates and publishes data from central cancer registries; and promotes the use of cancer surveillance data and systems for cancer control and epidemiologic research, public health programs, and patient care to reduce the burden of cancer in North America. For more, see  naaccr.org .

### U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether disease start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

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