U.S. cancer costs add up to $87.8 billion; Patients pay $4 billion out-of-pocket

With five-year cancer survival at an all-time high, does this mean people are living longer?

“It's really, really important that every year since 1991, cancer mortality has dropped by a little bit, and it did again!” said Paul Goldberg, editor and publisher of The Cancer Letter. “Now, mortality is a good metric, age-adjusted mortality. As far as survival, well, that's not so good.”

January 21, 2026

Clinical News Analysis

ACS report trumpets 70% five-year survival for all cancers amid uncertain funding outlook

The American Cancer Society’s 2026 annual statistics report trumpets a symbolic milestone for oncology—for the first time, the five-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has reached 70% for people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021 in the U.S.

January 16, 2026

Vol.52 No.02

By Jacquelyn Cobb and Paul Goldberg

Clinical Health Equity

New Medicaid work requirements could lead to 1.6 million missed cancer screenings over two years

New Medicaid work requirements included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could result in as many as 1.6 million missed screenings for breast, colon, and lung cancers within the first two years, researchers at the University of Chicago reported in a paper published in JAMA Oncology earlier this month.

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”
We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care

By law, the Food and Drug Administration is required to determine whether a drug, device, biologic, or medical device is “safe and effective.” But the FDA determination does not control whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will pay for it. To satisfy CMS, medical products and services must be “reasonable and necessary,” meaning...

January 16, 2026

Vol.52 No.02

By Mark J. Ratain and David A. Hyman

Clinical Trials & Tribulations

A radiation oncologist’s perspective: Why we need to accelerate early detection strategies for lung cancers

As a radiation oncologist, I am struck by how often the decisive variable in lung cancer is not the sophistication of our therapy, but the timing of our encounter with the disease. The American Cancer Society projects 618,120 cancer deaths in the United States in 2025, with lung cancer remaining as the single largest contributor,...

January 16, 2026

Vol.52 No.02

By Kevin King

Obituary

Ben Seon, immunologist whose work led to development of lymphoma drug Polivy, dies at 89

Ben K. Seon, a senior faculty member and distinguished immunology scientist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center across six decades, died Dec. 17, 2025. He was 89.

January 16, 2026

Vol.52 No.02

By Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

U.S. cancer costs add up to $87.8 billion; Patients pay $4 billion out-of-pocket

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

With five-year cancer survival at an all-time high, does this mean people are living longer?

ACS report trumpets 70% five-year survival for all cancers amid uncertain funding outlook

New Medicaid work requirements could lead to 1.6 million missed cancer screenings over two years

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”
We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care

A radiation oncologist’s perspective: Why we need to accelerate early detection strategies for lung cancers

Ben Seon, immunologist whose work led to development of lymphoma drug Polivy, dies at 89

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U.S. cancer costs add up to $87.8 billion; Patients pay $4 billion out-of-pocket

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

With five-year cancer survival at an all-time high, does this mean people are living longer?

ACS report trumpets 70% five-year survival for all cancers amid uncertain funding outlook

New Medicaid work requirements could lead to 1.6 million missed cancer screenings over two years

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care

A radiation oncologist’s perspective: Why we need to accelerate early detection strategies for lung cancers

Ben Seon, immunologist whose work led to development of lymphoma drug Polivy, dies at 89

Never miss an issue!

Login

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”
We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care