More than 575,000 Americans are expected to die of cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society, making it the No. 2 cause of death after cardiovascular disease. Some 7.6 million people died of the disease world-wide in 2008, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. During the five years ended in 2008, the death rate from cancer in the U.S. declined at 1.5% to 2% a year. Recent advances in molecular biology and immunology have led to powerful new drugs for melanoma and lung cancer, for instance, and hope for further progress against the disease. They are also helping to fuel excitement that other tumors are ripe for similar successes. "In almost every disease, we have an example of something that works," said Gordon Mills, head of systems biology at M.D. Anderson. "Once you have a first step, it's easier to take the second, the third."
