Scott Adams and cancer progress show improved survival rates

Cartoonist Scott Adams died after an aggressive form of prostate cancer, and an American Cancer Society report says five‑year survival for cancers diagnosed 2015–2021 reached 70%.

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, died at age 68 after a battle with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The news arrives alongside an American Cancer Society report showing steady gains in cancer survival over recent decades. New therapies and improved detection are cited as contributors to those gains. The article also notes policy and screening changes that intersect with these medical trends. Key facts: - Scott Adams died after an aggressive form of prostate cancer, as reported in the article. - The American Cancer Society reported a five-year survival rate of 70% for cancers diagnosed from 2015 to 2021, with notable increases for regional and metastatic cancers compared with two decades earlier. - Treatments such as checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T-cell therapies and antibody‑drug conjugates, along with genomics and artificial intelligence, are reported to have helped improve outcomes for some advanced cancers. - The article reports fewer prostate‑specific antigen (PSA) screenings in recent years and cites U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidance as a related factor in trends for advanced prostate cancer. - It also reports that policy changes, including price controls under the Inflation Reduction Act, have been linked in the article to some manufacturers pausing or abandoning experimental cancer drug programs. Summary: The report and the account of Adams’s illness are presented together to note both a personal loss and broader improvements in cancer survival driven by new treatments and earlier detection. Undetermined at this time.