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News
Cancer mortality in the U.S. has dropped 35% since 1991 — but the AACR's latest report warns that political interference in federal research funding could stall decades of hard-won progress. The Cancer Progress Report 2026 celebrates 11 new FDA-approved therapies and emerging frontiers like cancer vaccines, AI, and GLP-1s, while sounding the alarm on funding cuts and the shrinking pipeline of clinician-scientists.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its Cancer Progress Report 2026, painting a picture of remarkable scientific achievement — and a fragile future. Cancer mortality in the U.S. has fallen 35% since 1991, translating to 4.8 million fewer deaths, and 5-year survival for advanced/metastatic cancers has more than doubled (from 17% to 36%) since the mid-1990s. The FDA approved 11 new anti-cancer therapies in the past year, including the first checkpoint inhibitor for ovarian cancer, the first CAR-T for marginal zone lymphoma, and the first at-home HPV self-collection kit for cervical cancer screening.
Emerging frontiers — AI-powered drug discovery, personalized mRNA cancer vaccines, and GLP-1 receptor agonists showing protective effects against multiple cancers — offer further promise. However, the report's authors stress that sustained, merit-based federal funding is essential to keep the momentum going.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Proposed changes to federal grantmaking — which could allow political appointees to override peer-reviewed funding decisions — threaten to derail the very research engine that has driven these gains. Experts warn that without a stable funding pipeline, the next generation of clinician-scientists may abandon research careers, leaving American cancer patients vulnerable.
