Cancer deaths are falling due to significant strides in treatments, diagnostic tools and prevention strategies, according to a report
The initiative expands funding for cancer research, especially immunotherapies.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first immune checkpoint inhibitor in 2011 — a drug called ipilimumab, used for. Since then, it has approved eight other immune checkpoint inhibitors for 18 types of cancer, according to the report. In addition, the agency has approved seven other cancer therapeutics in the past year, including the first drug to treat uveal melanoma, the most common form of eye cancer in adults. It also expanded the use of 10 existing drugs to other cancers.
“The development of molecularly targeted drugs has certainly been a game-changer but haven’t been enough to result in true significant changes in overall survival,” she said.Also key to cutting cancer death rates is catching the disease as early as possible.