Facts about cancer

  • Cancer represents a significant unmet medical need

  • Each year, more than 11 million people around the world are diagnosed with cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects an increase to 16 million people a year over the next 15 years

  • The majority of cancer patients die within a short time span. Seven million people die from cancer every year, corresponding to 13% of all deaths. WHO projects an increase to 10.1 million by 2020

  • Cancer is close to overtaking the position of cardiovascular diseases as the disease with the highest mortality rate in the western world

  • In the western world the most common forms of lethal cancer are prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer