(Vienna, 28 October 2021) 49 running teams, 28 sponsors and partners and a total of around 2,000 runners once again support cancer research at the Medical University of Vienna in 2021. This year's 15th Cancer Research Run brought in a new record of €233,507 in donations. For the second year running, due to the coronavirus restrictions, the MedUni Vienna Charity Run was not held at the Old General Hospital in Vienna, as was the tradition, but as a Distant Run, which opened it up to runners from all over Austria. The donations raised fund or launch ten research projects regarding cancer every year.
Although the number of new cancer cases is rising, the associated mortality rate is falling, thanks to major advances in research. In Austria, around 40,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year. This means that the number of new cancer cases has doubled over the last 25 years. The commonest cancers in women are breast cancer (29%), lung and bowel cancer (10% respectively). In men, it is prostate cancer (23%) followed by lung cancer (14%) and then bowel cancer (12%). As a result of intensive research, relative 5-year survival has increased significantly in recent decades and now stands at more than 60%.
The results of basic research improve diagnostic techniques and therapeutic methods, giving rise to new treatment concepts. All this possible due to fundraising activities such as the Medical University of Vienna's Cancer Research Run, amongst other things.
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