Data Stream
A World of Difference
Though more patients are surviving longer after a
cancer diagnosis, survival varies widely based on
where patients live, according to research published in
The Lancet.
The authors reviewed 5-year survival rates among
37 million patients who were diagnosed with one of
18 cancer types between 2000 and 2014 and found
widespread disparities. For instance, the
highest and lowest survival rates for
some common cancers were:
breast
cancer:
90 % in the U.S.
and
%
66 in India
“Governments must recognize population-based cancer registries as
key policy tools that can be used to evaluate both the impact of cancer
prevention strategies and the effectiveness of health systems for all
patients diagnosed with cancer,” the authors concluded.
Source: Allemani C, Matsuda T, Di Carlo V, et al. Global surveillance of trends in cancer survival
2000–14 (CONCORD-3): analysis of individual records for 37 513 025 patients diagnosed with
one of 18 cancers from 322 population-based registries in 71 countries. Lancet. 2018 January
30. [Epub ahead of print]
gastrointestinal
cancers:
pediatric
acute
lymphocytic
leukemia:
68% in South Korea
and
33% in the U.S.
95 % in Finland
and
50 % in Ecuador
The End of an Era?
Results from a Gallup survey show that the number of
uninsured Americans increased during 2017, putting an end
to years of steady decreases following the passage of the
Affordable Care Act in 2010.
15%
At the end of 2017,
12.2% of U.S.
At the end of 2016,
adults lacked
10.9% of U.S.
health insurance. adults lacked
health insurance.
10%
Banking on
Gene Editing
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is
going all in on gene editing, pledging millions
in funds to researchers who are improving
and adopting these technologies.
With its new Somatic Cell Genome
Editing program, NIH is investing
$ 190
million over 6 years
in researchers who are improving the
delivery of or developing new gene-editing
technologies. The goal is to assemble a
“genome-editing toolkit” that can be shared
with the larger scientific community.
“Genome-editing technologies such as
CRISPR/Cas9 are revolutionizing biomedical
research,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins,
MD, PhD. “The focus of the Somatic Cell
Genome Editing program is to dramatically
accelerate the translation of these technol-
ogies to the clinic for treatment of as many
genetic diseases as possible.”
5%
0%
Source: National Institutes of Health press release,
January 23, 2018.
The increase of 1.3 percentage points translates to
3.2 million Americans who lost health coverage last year.
Source: Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index, January 16, 2018.
14
ASH Clinical News
March 2018