The dawn of the 21st century marked the beginning of both a new millennium and a new era in cancer treatment. When the United States committed itself in 1971 to curing cancer, oncologists had only a handful of therapies at their disposal: powerful but relatively crude and non-specific treatments brought into play only after disease was well advanced. Cancer could be excised with a surgeon's knife, blasted with ionizing radiation, or slowly poisoned with toxic chemotherapy. For most patients treatment was nearly as terrible as the disease, and cancer continued to exact a high toll in human lives.

In the decades since, researchers and clinicians have made tremendous strides toward understanding the biological and molecular origins of many forms of cancer, and there have been hard-won victories. Yet even with these advances, the overall death toll from cancer has remained steady.

Millennium scientists are studying potential treatments for a number of cancers, including the following:

Acute myeloid leukemia is a blood cancer in which immature white blood cells proliferate excessively in the bone marrow. According to ACS estimates, 10,500 new cases were expected in the United States in 2003, with about 7,800 deaths.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States, behind lung cancer. Over 211,000 new cases were expected in 2003, with approximately 40,000 deaths.

Colorectal cancer is the third most frequently diagnosed form of cancer in the United States (when all forms of skin cancer are excluded). The ACS estimates that about 105,000 new cases of colon cancer and 42,000 new cases of rectal cancer were diagnosed in 2003, with approximately 57,000 deaths respectively from these cancers combined.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. The ACS estimates that about 172,000 new cases of lung cancer will be reported in the United States in 2003, with about 157,000 people dying from the disease. The overall five-year survival rate for lung cancer was 15% in 1997, the latest year for which national data were available.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of antibody-producing cells normally found in bone marrow. It is the second most prevalent hematologic cancer, accounting for about 1% of all cancers, according to the ACS. About 50,000 Americans have multiple myeloma. There is no known cure; the ACS estimates that 14,600 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2003, and that 10,900 patients will die from the disease during the same period.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are cancers that start in lymphoid tissue. The lymphatic system is important for filtering waste products, germs, cancer cells and fluid from the tissues to eliminate toxins from the body. The ACS estimates that 53,400 people will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the United States in 2003.

Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States and ranks fifth as the cause of cancer death in women, according to the ACS. Ovarian cancer has a 95% five-year survival rate if found before it has spread outside the ovary. However, only 25% of the cancers are found at this early stage. The ACS estimates that there will over 25,000 new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2003.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in men and women. The ACS estimates that 30,700 people will be diagnosed with the disease in 2003, and that an almost equal number - 30,000 - will die from the disease. Only 2 in 10 patients with the disease survive at least one year.

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States, second to lung cancer. Prostate cancer accounts for about 10% of all cancer-related deaths in men, with about 29,000 deaths expected in the United States in 2003.