In 2018, an estimated 1,735,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 609,640 people will die from the disease. The most common cancers (listed in descending order according to estimated new cases in 2018) are breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, melanoma of the skin, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, endometrial cancer, leukemia, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, and liver cancer. The number of new cases of cancer (cancer incidence) is 439.2 per 100,000 men and women per year (based on 2011–2015 cases). The number of cancer deaths (cancer mortality) is 163.5 per 100,000 men and women per year (based on 2011–2015 deaths).

Cancer Breakthroughs

Speaking of specially developed tools for delivering drugs straight to the tumor and hunting down micro tumors with accuracy and efficiency, the past couple of years have seen a “boom” in nanotechnology and nanoparticle developments for cancer treatments. Nanoparticles could be ‘a game-changer’ in cancer treatment. Nanoparticles are microscopic particles that have garnered so much attention in clinical research, among other fields, because they bring us the chance to develop precise, less invasive methods of tackling disease.

Vitally, they can target cancer cells or cancer tumors without harming healthy cells in the surrounding environment. Some nanoparticles have now been created to provide very focused hyperthermic treatment, which is a type of therapy that uses hot temperatures to make cancer tumors shrink. Last year, scientists from China and the U.K. managed to come up with a type of “self-regulating” nanoparticle that was able to expose tumors to heat while avoiding contact with healthy tissue. “This could potentially be a game-changer in the way we treat people who have cancer,” said one of the researchers in charge of this project.

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