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Certain cancers have a lower survival rate than others. There are many factors that may play a role in survival. Some cancers are not easily found until they’ve grown or spread. Finding cancer at an earlier stage, before it spreads, can make it easier to treat and offer a person a greater chance of successfully beating the disease. Access to or disparities in healthcare make a difference in patient outcomes. Also, some cancers have fewer treatment options because they are extremely rare and scientists have not yet found therapies that work. The V Foundation is working to change the outcomes for many of these cancers and reduce disparities in cancer and cancer research.

Cancers with Low Survival Rates

Cancer survival rates are often talked about in terms of five-year or 10-year blocks of time. A five-year survival rate means that a person is still alive five years after their cancer diagnosis; and a 10-year survival rate means that a person has survived for a decade following their diagnosis. However, surviving five or even 10 years is not necessarily a guarantee that a person’s cancer is cured or that it won’t return later.

Cancers with the lowest survival rates often see those diagnosed die within five years. More work is needed to find better ways to detect these cancers earlier or to develop more effective treatments. Among the cancers with the lowest survival rates:

Brain Cancer and Cancer of the Central Nervous System (CNS)

Certain brain and CNS cancers, including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), have low survival rates. DIPG is an aggressive CNS cancer most often diagnosed in children, and it is inoperable. While the overall rate of survival for CNS cancers has improved over the last 40+ years, the survival rate for patients with DIPG remains very low. Scientists have been able to better understand brain and CNS tumors in general by looking at the DNA of a patient and their tumor. By understanding these cancers better, scientists have developed individualized, targeted therapies to stop them. But DIPG is still especially challenging to treat or study because of its location.

The five-year survival rate for brain and other CNS cancers is about 33%. The two-year survival rate for DIPG is less than 10%.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315802/

The V Foundation has funded more than $5.6 million to study DIPG. Learn more about the studies we have funded:

• David Ashley, MBBS, FRACP, Ph.D.D, is using the body’s own defenses to take on DIPG.
• Michelle Monje-Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D., is studying what drives the growth of DIPG and other gliomas.

Pancreatic Cancer

The pancreas is a gland in your abdomen. When functioning correctly, it creates digestive juices and hormones to regulate blood sugar. The pancreas is behind other organs, and there are no noticeable early symptoms of pancreatic cancer. This makes pancreatic cancer hard to find and hard to treat. Often, by the time pancreatic cancer is detected, it has already begun to spread.

Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. The overall five-year survival rate is 10%. Survival rates are higher – by almost one-third – when the cancer is caught early, before it spreads. If it has spread before it is found, the survival rate drops significantly.

The V Foundation has awarded more than $13 million to study pancreatic cancers. Read more about our work to stop one of the deadliest cancers:

• Donita Brady, Ph.D., is exploring the role of dietary metals.
• David Tuveson, Ph.D., is working with organoids to improve treatments for pancreatic cancers.
• Je Lee, Ph.D., is looking at genetic sequences to learn more about pancreatic cancers.

How Cancer Research is Making a Difference

There may not be cures for all cancers today, but cancer research is helping to get closer. New breakthroughs in the field can create positive outcomes for patients living with the disease.

The V Foundation proudly uses 100% of direct donations to fund research to find improved methods of detection and treatment for a variety of cancers, including those with low survival rates.

Become a Monthly Cancer Research Donor and Save Lives

You can save lives by supporting cancer research. Increase survival odds for patients by becoming a monthly donor to the V Foundation. Learn more about your giving options and how your donation can help make a positive impact in the lives of others.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The V Foundation for Cancer Research is shining a spotlight on the importance of the work that scientists are doing to take on this deadly disease.

Why We Need It

Why is breast cancer research so important? According to the National Cancer Institute:

• There will be more than 275,000 new cases of breast cancer this year alone.
• There will be more than 42,000 breast cancer-related deaths.
• Nearly 13% of all women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Nancy Davidson, M.D., is the Senior Vice President of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and a member of the V Foundation’s Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Committee. She has focused on breast cancer research throughout her distinguished career.

“Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.S.,” said Davidson. “Thanks to advances in screening and treatment powered by laboratory and clinical research, mortality from breast cancer has fallen by 40% since 1993.”

What We’re Doing

Funding innovative research has made the improvements in treatment and detection possible.

“This improvement comes from a better understanding of breast cancer biology, which has translated into better treatment—new targeted therapies like those directed against the HER-2 protein or the estrogen receptor. It comes from a better understanding about who might be at risk for hereditary breast cancer– like those who have inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes—and what these individuals can do to lower risk. It comes from an understanding of the disparities in breast cancer outcomes—why they exist and what can be done,” said Davidson.

The V Foundation has led the way by supporting V Scholars, early stage investigators that are the future of breast cancer research and care. This includes research on BRCA1 and BRCA2-related breast cancers, as well as research on Thrivership, which focuses on improving the lives of the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.

A Brighter Future, Thanks to You

“Donors like you have powered our progress against breast cancer,” said Davidson. “But we need you more than ever as we work toward a future that holds the best treatment for each and every patient.”

Every dollar counts, and every donation made saves more lives. With the continued “Don’t Ever Give Up” spirit of supporters like you, we’ll one day put cancer in the rearview mirror.