The patient pool for cancer therapies is rising in line with an aging global population; lung cancer is currently estimated to have the second highest incidence of any cancer, with 439,000 new sufferers in 2004 across the seven major markets.

The last decade has seen a fall in mortality rates from breast cancer, although the incidence of the disease remained high at 433,000 new sufferers in 2004. Due to the lack of curative treatments for late stage breast cancer, long-term survival for patients still depends on early diagnosis, which has been improved through the contentious use of large-scale screening and public awareness programs.

Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and is the second leading cancer-related cause of death in men, surpassed only by lung cancer. The highest incidence of this disease in the seven major markets is seen in the US, which accounted for 62.5% of all cases (395,000) in 2004. The global cancer market was valued at $36.9bn in 2004, representing an 18.9% increase on 2003 sales of $31.1bn. Market growth has primarily been driven by increased sales of antineoplastics, although immunosuppressants and immunostimulants have also contributed strongly to sales growth. The strongest performing brand in the antineoplastics markets was Sanofi-Aventis?Eloxatin, a platinum based compound which has been able benefited from concerns over side effects associated with Camptosar. Other strong performers in the antineoplastics market were Novartis? Glivec, sales of which increased by 43.5% to $1,220m, Genentech?s Herceptin, sales of which were up by 33.4% to $847m, and Schering-Plough?s Temodal, sales of which increased by 39.5% to $371m. The market for immunostimulants expanded by 15.4% in 2004, with Amgen?s Neulasta and Biogen Idec?s Avonex the market leaders with joint sales of approximately $3bn collectively. Across the major immunostimulant brands, a high number of products are positioned for high growth rates and the outlook is positive for the class as a whole.