Cancer is one of the world’s most challenging diseases and the number two cause of death in the U.S. and other developed nations, accounting for nearly one in four of all deaths.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global cases of cancer are expected to soar in the next 16 years with the aging population in developed countries. More than 10 million people are currently diagnosed with cancer every year, and estimates are that there will be 15 million new cases every year by 2020, an increase of 50% over today’s rate. The WHO also predicts a corresponding increase in annual cancer deaths from approximately 7 to 10 million.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates overall costs of cancer in the U.S. in 2006 at US$206.3 billion with US$78.2 billion in direct medical costs. A significant proportion of these expenditures is associated with cancer screening and diagnostics, which rely heavily on imaging systems and lab tests to determine the presence and extent of malignancy and to map optimal treatment protocols.

In 2005, the American Cancer Society estimated that there would be approximately 1.4 million new cases of cancer in the U.S. with prostate, breast, lung and colon / rectal cancer accounting for 56% of this population as illustrated in the table below:

Estimated New Cancer Cases in the U.S. in 2006 (excluding NMSC)*

*Source: American Cancer Society