On September 13, 2018, moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk (Lumoxiti), a CD22-directed cytotoxin, was approved for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia who received at least two prior systemic therapies, including with a purine nucleoside analog.

Catherine J. Wu, MD, Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was reared in a medical environment, which shaped her career path as a physician-scientist. “Both of my parents are physicians and were trained in internal medicine. Medicine was always part of my life as I grew up, and it seemed like an exciting and worthy career in an ever-changing environment. And I never encountered one thing that made me question that decision,” said Dr. Wu.

Although overall cancer survival rates continue to improve among all age groups in the United States—there are currently an estimated 15.5 million cancer survivors, and that number is expected to increase to 20.3 million by 2026¹—survival rates for adolescents and young adults with cancer (AYAs) still lag behind those for children and older adults with the disease. According to one study, between 2002 and 2006, the 5-year relative survival rate for all invasive cancers diagnosed in AYAs, those between the ages of 15 and 39, was 82.5%.² However, survival is worse in AYAs with specific cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and medulloblastoma, compared with children with those cancers; it also is worse in AYAs than in older adults who have hepatic carcinoma, AML, high-grade astrocytoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), pancreatic carcinoma, low-grade astrocytoma, gastric carcinoma, renal carcinoma, cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian cancer, fibromatous sarcoma, other soft-tissue sarcoma, and thyroid carcinoma.² In addition, compared with older women, women younger than age 40 are generally diagnosed with more aggressive breast cancers and tend to have lower survival rates.³

As the global burden of cancer grows, cancer control measures must be tailored to regional and national priorities, underscoring the need for high-quality cancer registries, according to Christopher P. Wild, PhD, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.