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Colorectal cancer incidence, mortality rates down in recent years
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Throughout the United States, colorectal cancer incidence and mortality has declined in recent years because of an increase in the number of people being screened for the disease, according to the CDC. However, experts are concerned that the dramatic increase in screening rates may be beginning to level off.
“Colon cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in non-smokers in this country, but most colon cancer can be prevented,” Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the CDC and administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, said during a press briefing. “We’ve seen a remarkable increase in the level of screening. Until now, nearly two-thirds of Americans were screened by 2010; however, there were still 22 million people in the age group of 50 to 75 who should’ve been screened, would’ve benefited from screening, but weren’t screened.”
According to Frieden, in the past 5 years, colon cancer incidence rates have decreased by 10%, a reduction that translates to 66,000 fewer people with the disease and 30,000 fewer people who did not die of the disease. This reduction is due largely to increased screening rates and an improvement in the health care system, he said.
The CDC report, issued in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, included data on colorectal cancer screening, incidence and mortality collected between 2002 and 2010. The colorectal cancer incidence in 2007 ranged from 34.3 per 100,000 population in Utah to 56.9 per 100,000 in North Dakota, according to the study. During the same year, death rates ranged from 12.3 per 100,000 population in Utah to 21.1 per 100,000 in Washington, D.C. The incidence of colorectal cancer decreased significantly in 35 states and mortality decreased in 49 states and Washington, D.C., between 2002 and 2007. During this time, annual percentage changes ranged from 1% per year in Alabama to 3.6% per year in Rhode Island.
“There have been important advances, not only in understanding what works in colon cancer screening, but also what works for health care providers to do a better job getting people screened,” Frieden said. “Systems in doctors’ offices and health centers to track who’s been screened and who hasn’t been screened; reminders going out; system changes to make it easier to get colon cancer screening without going through multiple steps; and, of course, the Affordable Care Act will eliminate co-payments for new health insurance programs.”
The CDC said it urges the accessibility and use of colorectal cancer screening for all of those eligible in the United States to ensure that these decreases in incidence and mortality continue.
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