Company: NCNA
Filing Date: 2025-03-20
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000950170-25-042709
Chunk: 118

Company: NuCana plc
Filing Date: 2025-03-20
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 118
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.src}">Cancer and the Need for Improved Treatment Options
 
 Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, with over 2 million new cases and approximately 618,000 deaths expected in 2025, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.
 
 The treatment of cancer can be divided into three major categories: surgery, radiotherapy and therapeutics. Therapeutics include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, cell-based therapies and targeted and hormonal agents.
 
 The backbone of treatment for patients with cancer consists of chemotherapeutics, which are expected to achieve revenues of approximately $106 billion by 2030. The number of new patients requiring chemotherapy each year is also predicted to increase, with projections estimated to rise from 9.8 million in 2018 to 15 million in 2040. Chemotherapeutics exert their effects by killing cancer cells or preventing them from replicating and are often used in combination with other therapies. Within the larger universe of chemotherapy, nucleoside analogs, such as 5-FU, play a significant role. Nucleoside analogs have been in clinical use for over 50 years and have become cornerstones of treatment for patients with cancer. The FDA has approved 16 nucleoside analogs for the treatment of cancer and many of these have become the standard of care globally for patients. FDA-approved anti-cancer nucleoside analogs are: 5-FU; capecitabine; gemcitabine; floxuridine; clofarabine; fludarabine; cytarabine; azacytidine; decitabine; nelarabine; cladribine; pentostatin; 6-mercaptopurine; tipiracil; 6-thioguanine; and trifluorothymidine. The World Health Organization has classified seven of these nucleoside analogs, including 5-FU, as Essential Medicines, which they define as medicines that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population and should be available at all times.

 Many chemotherapies have generated significant sales. Approximately 275,000 patients per year in the United States receive intravenous 5-FU, which is widely used for the treatment of many cancers, including colorectal, breast, stomach, head and neck, and pancreatic cancers. The oral version of a derivative of 5-FU, known as capecitabine and marketed as Xeloda® for the