World Cancer Research Day 2025
- Rafaella Hadjicosti
- Sep 24
- 6 min read
Cancer continues to pose a global public health challenge. Multiple factors - aging populations, unhealthy behaviours, infections, and environmental exposure, among others - are contributing to the growing burden of cancer. Individuals, families, and health systems are increasingly feeling the detrimental emotional, and psychosocial impact and financial strain due to cancers. Most of the countries are challenged by uneven access to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care tools and systems, invariably affecting more the poorer segments and population groups.
Every year on September 24, the world unites to recognize World Cancer Research Day, a reminder that advancing cancer research is not only a scientific challenge but also a shared human responsibility.
In 2022, there were an estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths. The estimated number of people who were alive within 5 years following a cancer diagnosis was 53.5 million. About 1 in 5 people develop cancer in their lifetime, approximately 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women die from cancer disease. [World Health Organization. (2024, February 1). Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services]
Why Cancer Research Matters Now More Than Ever
Cancer affects every community, every family, and nearly every individual in some way. In 2020 alone, there were 19.3 million new cancer cases and nearly 10 million deaths worldwide (Sung et al., 2021). Behind every statistic are countless lives disrupted by diagnosis and treatment. The global cancer research community works tirelessly to improve early detection, develop effective therapies, and understand the molecular mechanisms driving the disease. The last decade has shown extraordinary progress:
Precision Medicine: Instead of a “one-size-fits-all” approach, doctors can now use genetic testing to identify the unique mutations driving a patient’s cancer. This allows treatments to be more targeted, more effective, and less toxic. For example, in ovarian cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations, the PARP inhibitor olaparib reduced the risk of progression or death by around 70% compared to placebo in the SOLO1 trial, with survival benefits lasting beyond 7 years (Moore et al., 2018). Such advances show how genetic insights can directly translate into better outcomes.
Immunotherapy: Cancer cells often escape the body’s natural defenses by “hiding” from the immune system. Immunotherapy unlocks the immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy these cells. Treatments like immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized outcomes: in the CheckMate-067 trial for advanced melanoma, 5-year overall survival reached 52% with nivolumab + ipilimumab, compared to only 26% with ipilimumab alone (Larkin et al., 2019; Hodi et al., 2021). Similarly, in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients whose tumors express high PD-L1, pembrolizumab significantly extended survival, with benefits maintained at 5 years (Reck et al., 2019). These breakthroughs have turned previously untreatable cancers into conditions where long-term remission is possible.
Early Detection and Prevention: Detecting cancer earlier saves lives. The National Lung Screening Trial showed that using low-dose CT (LDCT) reduced lung cancer mortality by 20% compared to chest X-ray (Aberle et al., 2011), while the NELSON trial confirmed similar benefits with volume CT screening (de Koning et al., 2020). Colorectal cancer screening through fecal tests, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy has been shown to cut mortality by 28–62%, depending on method and population (Shaukat et al., 2021). Prevention is equally powerful: in England, HPV vaccination reduced cervical cancer incidence by ~87% among women vaccinated at ages 12–13 (Falcaro et al., 2021). Likewise, widespread hepatitis B vaccination programs have markedly reduced rates of hepatocellular carcinoma in young adults (Chang et al., 2016).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation: Modern cancer research generates enormous amounts of data, from genetic sequencing to imaging. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps researchers and clinicians detect patterns invisible to the human eye. For example, AI systems in breast cancer screening have matched or surpassed radiologists in accuracy, reducing both false positives and false negatives (McKinney et al., 2020). Deep-learning pathology tools also achieve pathologist-level performance in detecting cancer spread in lymph nodes (Cireşan et al., 2013).
Meanwhile, laboratory automation ensures experiments and diagnostics are performed faster, more reproducibly, and at scale. In next-generation sequencing (NGS), automated library preparation reduces variation, decreases hands-on time, and improves consistency across samples. In clinical labs, total automation has been shown to shorten turnaround times and boost productivity without compromising quality. In summary, cancer research has never been more impactful. Precision medicine is tailoring therapies to each patient’s biology, immunotherapy is transforming survival in previously lethal cancers, screening and vaccination are preventing disease before it starts, and AI with lab automation are accelerating discovery while ensuring reproducibility. These advances remind us that investing in cancer research today translates directly into more lives saved tomorrow.
The role of EFEVRE TECH: Supporting the World Cancer Research Mission
But while breakthroughs continue, the need for faster, reproducible, and more accessible research tools remains critical. At EFEVRE TECH, our mission is clear; to empower life-science researchers with artificial intelligent, reproducible, and automated solutions that accelerate biomedical research. From advanced AI-powered literature exploration to next-generation laboratory automation platforms, our technologies are designed to address the very challenges cancer researchers face today.
By enabling scientists to focus on meaningful discovery rather than repetitive manual work, we contribute to a research ecosystem where knowledge flows faster and life-saving innovations can reach patients sooner.
Proven Use Case: AMGEL 4TT for Technology Transfer
One recent example of this mission in efficient and meaningful discovery action comes from our collaboration with the Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. The laboratory integrated our AMGEL4TT automation platform into its workflows, achieving:
Novel Diagnostic Procedure: Customized developed for your laboratory's tailored needs.
Bridge the Gap to Market: To ensure repeatability and reliable technology transfer.
Get Certified for IVDR: By using the complete AMGEL4TT package of hardware and software.
Release into the Market: Without worrying about losing any IPs of royalty fees from revenue.
At the University of Cambridge’s Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, the integration of AMGEL4TT brought measurable improvements across multiple areas of their workflow. Complex procedures were streamlined and executed with greater consistency, ensuring efficiency without compromising quality. Most importantly, the AMGEL4TT platform delivered reliable and reproducible results, a factor that is absolutely critical in oncology diagnostics, where precision can directly impact outcomes. The robotic automation device AMGEL4TT reported to significantly reduced the hands-on workload for the Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory technicians and scientists. Tasks that used to require repeated manual steps are now largely automated, freeing up the team’s time for more critical thinking and complex analyses, rather than repetitive pipetting or manual transfers. And in diagnostics, consistency isn’t just a bonus, it’s essential. Variability in procedure or handling can lead to differences in results, especially when dealing with molecular data or diagnostic samples. With AMGEL4TT, University of Cambridge saw more consistent, reproducible results, meaning greater confidence in each diagnosis, sample processing, or experiment.
The collaboration itself was described as smooth and highly productive, with rapid system adoption and straightforward training that enabled the team to embrace the technology quickly and confidently.
This use case demonstrates the real-world value of combining intelligent automation with world-class research. It is not just about efficiency, it’s about giving cancer researchers more time, better tools, and the confidence that their work will stand up to the highest scientific standards.
Closing Thoughts
World Cancer Research Day is a call to action for governments, researchers, industry and society at large. Together, we can accelerate discovery, improve treatment, and bring hope to millions worldwide.
At EFEVRE TECH, we are proud to stand alongside the global scientific community. Through innovations like AMGEL4TT, already deployed at the Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, we are helping to shape the future of cancer diagnostics and research, where technology and science unite to save lives.
Compiled using information from:
Effects of Screening Compliance on Long-term Reductions in All-cause and Colorectal Cancer Mortality
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