11 June 2016 - A new report from the IMS Institute for Health Informatics highlights the plights and promises of the rapidly growing cancer drug industry.

In terms of diagnoses, there's arguably nothing scarier a patient can hear than the phrase, "you have cancer."

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, some 14 million cases of cancer are diagnosed annually, and within two decades, this figure is expected to increase by nearly 60% to 22 million. Cancer comes in dozens of different types, and the risk factors of developing cancer tend to differ from one type of disease to another. Age, however, tends to be a nearly universal risk factor, so the longer we live, the higher the incidence rate of cancer.

The data isn't as horrifying as it sounds, though. Population growth accounts for a good portion of estimated cancer incidence growth in the coming two decades, access to preventative care is improving around the globe, we are indeed living longer (which is a good thing), and cancer medications are more effective than they've ever been. Things are definitely improving in terms of patient care, even if the number of annual diagnoses is on the rise.

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