Oncology

Over 400,000 new cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year, 90% of which are renal cell carcinoma (RCC). At diagnosis, up to 30% of patients present with advanced or metastatic RCC.  If detected in the early stages, the five-year survival rate is high, but for people living with advanced or late-stage metastatic RCC, the survival rate is much lower, around 12%, with no identified cure for this disease.

This is the most common cancer in the world and the most frequent in women; 65% to 75% of all breast cancers are hormone receptor positive.

Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare cancer called a soft tissue sarcoma. It begins as a growth of cells in the soft tissue and can occur anywhere on the body. It often starts beneath the skin on the finger, hand, forearm, knee or lower leg. It can cause one or more small, firm growths or lumps to form under the skin, and can often be mistaken for other conditions, but multiple growths may occur by the time a person seeks medical help. Epithelioid sarcoma often affects teenagers and young adults, but can also affect older people. Soft tissue sarcomas account for approximately 1% of all adult cancers, and epithelioid sarcoma accounts for about 1% of all soft tissue sarcomas every year in the U.S.

Follicular lymphoma is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) which is a cancer of the lymphatic system. It develops when the body makes abnormal B lymphocytes. These lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that normally helps fight infections. When a patient has a lymphoma, the abnormal lymphocytes build up in the lymph nodes or other body organs. Between 15,000 and 20,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with FL annually. Most diagnoses occur in advanced stages.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is also called hepatoma or HCC. It is the most common type of primary liver cancer. This type of liver cancer develops from the main liver cells called hepatocytes. It is more common in people with cirrhosis, where there is scarring of the liver due to previous damage such as from the hepatitis B or C virus, or long-term alcohol drinking. More than 900,000 new cases of liver cancer, 90% of which are HCC, are diagnosed worldwide each year. HCC is expected to cause 1 million global deaths annually by 2030.

Neuroendocrine tumors, or NETs, are a group of uncommon tumors that develop in the cells of the neuroendocrine system, throughout the body. NETs occur in both men and women, in general aged 50 to 60 years old, although they can affect anyone of any age. The three areas where NETs are mostly found in the body are the gastrointestinal tract, the pancreas and the lungs. There are 171,000 people living with NETs in the U.S. alone. The number of people newly diagnosed with NETs overall is believed to be rising. This is mainly due to increased awareness of the condition and diagnostic testing. The average NETs patient waits up to seven years to receive a diagnosis.

Neuroendocrine tumors are sometimes referred to as carcinoid tumors, particularly when they affect the small bowel, large bowel or appendix. Carcinoid syndrome is the collection of symptoms some people living with a neuroendocrine tumor may experience and is more common when the tumor has spread to the liver, as hormones such as serotonin are released into the bloodstream. While carcinoid syndrome can happen to people living with lung and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, this is usually rare.

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive, systemic disease with increasing incidence and is predicted to become the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death by 2030. Pancreatic cancer can be difficult to diagnose because of the lack of validated, specific screening tests that can easily and reliably find early-stage pancreatic cancer in people who do not show symptoms. People lving with pancreatic cancer often do not have symptoms in the early stages of the disease, meaning it is often not found until later stages when the cancer can no longer be removed with surgery and/or has spread from the pancreas to other parts of the body. This is the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in the US.

Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs for many years. Over 1.4 million new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed worldwide in 2020, making it the fourth-most commonly occurring cancer globally and the second in the male population.

In 2020, over 580,000 new cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed worldwide. Thyroid cancer is the ninth-most commonly occurring cancer globally and incidence is three times higher in women than in men. While cancerous thyroid tumors include differentiated, medullary and anaplastic forms, differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) makes up about 90 to 95% of cases. DTC is typically treated with surgery, followed by ablation of the remaining thyroid tissue with radioactive iodine (RAI), but approximately 5 to 15% of cases are resistant to RAI treatment. People living with RAI-refractory DTC have an average estimated survival rate of three to five years.