Rebecca Siegel

New Capabilities

Quoted in coverage of the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2026

A cancer diagnosis in the mid-1970s was close to a coin flip: only 49% of patients lived five years. Today, 71% do — the highest rate on record. The American Association for Cancer Research's 2026 progress report credits better screening, improved surgery and radiation, and a wave of drugs that harness the immune system or target specific tumor mutations.

Updated 2 days ago

New Capabilities

Lead author of annual Cancer Statistics report

Cancer death rates in the United States peaked in 1991 at 215 deaths per 100,000 people and have since fallen 34%, averting an estimated 4.5 million deaths. The decline accelerated from about 1% annually in the 1990s to 2% annually by 2015-2020, driven by plummeting smoking rates, earlier detection through screening, and advances in targeted therapies and immunotherapy.

Updated May 22