Statement by American Society of Clinical Oncology CEO Allen S. Lichter, MD on the 40th Anniversary of the National Cancer Act

December 13 2011

ASCO thanks those in the U.S. Senate who today reaffirmed the value of cancer research by honoring the National Cancer Act of 1971. Forty years after that landmark legislation, ASCO urges members of both houses of Congress to help sustain the nation's commitment to conquer cancer through continued research. Federal research investments spurred by the Act enabled the nation to make tremendous progress in the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer. Publicly-funded cancer research has also vastly increased our biological understanding of the disease.

Thanks to our nation's concerted effort to fight cancer, we've achieved substantial reductions in the cancer death rate and have pushed five-year survival rates for breast, testicular, and some childhood cancers to over 90 percent. The knowledge gained though NCI and NIH research on chemotherapy and targeted treatments, radiation therapy, surgical advances, and side effect management has improved care and helped achieve an 18 percent decrease in the cancer death rate since the 1990s. The 12 million cancer survivors in the country today are the true testament to the value of this research.

In spite of the great progress, we must push even harder moving forward. Let's renew the commitment to conquer a disease that continues to take too large of a toll on patients and is predicted to be a leading cause of death in the years to come.

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