50 years of the war on cancer

We've been fighting a war on cancer for over half a century—from Nixon’s 1971 National Cancer Act to the promise of cutting-edge AI therapies today. Ian Bremmer reflects on how that war is going.

The numbers are still grim: nearly 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the US will be diagnosed with cancer, and 1,700 people die from it every day. Disparities persist—Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women—and treatment costs remain crushing for many.

But there’s progress. Survival rates have more than doubled since the 1960s, and new technologies, especially AI, are opening doors researchers couldn’t imagine a decade ago. For Ian, it’s personal. Both of his parents died of cancer. “If you haven’t had it yourself,” he says, “you know someone who has.” But for the first time in decades, there’s real hope that science may be gaining the upper hand.

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.