An aging population combined with better treatment techniques means more people will overcome cancer.

The second Annual Report on Cancer Survivorship was released yesterday from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

The report reveals that currently there are 13.7 million cancer survivors in the United States – and this number will grow by 31% to 18 million by the year 2022.

Julia Rowland, Ph.D., director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said:

“The increase in the number of survivors will be due primarily to an aging of the population. By 2020, we expect that two-thirds of cancer survivors are going to be age 65 or older.”

The report was based on an assessment of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program and population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The report outlined approximations of future cancer survival rates and also reveals that survival is not constant across cancer subtypes. For instance, women with breast cancer make up 22 percent of survivors and men with prostate cancer 20 percent.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer that is diagnosed but only accounts for 3% of survivors.

Rowland explained:

“For patients with prostate cancer, we have a nearly 100 percent five-year survival rate, and breast cancer has made tremendous strides as well, with five-year survival rising from 75 percent in 1975 to almost 89 percent in 2012. However, we clearly need to have better diagnostic tools and better treatments for lung cancer.”

The authors also point out that the greater number of survivors will come with new challenges for the health care community. Patients who have been diagnosed with cancer are likely to have co-morbid conditions that will need additional treatment. They also estimate that 16% will have had an earlier malignancy.

Because of the possible challenges associated with the growing population, the authors suggested:

  • Improve ways for giving long-term follow-up care: The side effects and long-term effects of cancer treatments need to be addressed and more data is needed to examine which is the most effective strategy to keep cancer survivors in good health.
  • Long-term data should be gathered from adult cancer survivors: More data is needed to successfully pinpoint the best ways to care for patients.
  • Use electronic health records and other technologies to monitor and enhance survivors’ care: With these updates in technology, researchers can now identify biological and self-reported data in real time, and use this as a tool to act on trends or patterns to better care.
  • Better palliative care: Previous studies have proven that treating discomfort, pain and other cancer-related symptoms with methods like massage, meditation, and group therapy can improve quality of life and lower health care costs for patients.

Last year the American Cancer Society released a similar report suggesting that the number of cancer survivors will rise by a third over the next decade. Additionally, they released a report outlining healthy living guidelines for cancer survivors.

Written by Kelly Fitzgerald