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ACS: Cancer death rate declines 23% from all-time high
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The overall cancer death rate in the United States has declined 23% since reaching an all-time high in 1991, according to the Cancer Statistics 2016 report released by the American Cancer Society.
The decline translates to more than 1.7 million deaths averted through 2012, according to the report’s authors.
Rebecca Siegel
Although the death rate continues to fall, cancer remains the leading cause of death for much of the U.S. population, the report showed.
“Advancing the fight against cancer will require continued clinical and basic research, which is dependent on funding, as well as the application of existing cancer control knowledge across all segments of the population, with an emphasis on disadvantaged groups,” Rebecca Siegel, MPH, director of surveillance information at the ACS, and colleagues wrote.
The decline in cancer deaths can be attributed to reductions in smoking, as well as improved screening modalities for both prostate and breast cancers, according to the report’s authors.
Sumanta K. Pal
“Much like in breast cancer, in prostate cancer we now have the ability to start utilizing the genomic information we are getting from the blood,” Sumanta K. Pal, MD, assistant clinical professor in the department of medical oncology and therapeutics research at City of Hope in Duarte, California, and HemOnc Today Editorial Board member, said in a press release issued by his institution. “This means we can tailor a therapy to a specific patient and that therapy will be less painful, less invasive and more precise.”
An estimated 1.68 million new cancer cases are projected to be diagnosed in the United States this year, and an estimated 595,690 people in the country will die of cancer, according to the report.
An analysis of SEER registries through 2012 showed overall cancer incidence trends are stable among women. Cancer incidence declined 3.1% among men between 2009 and 2012, primarily due to the decline in prostate cancer diagnoses.
Despite the overall decline in cancer cases and mortality, the report’s authors noted incidence and death rates for several types of cancers — including cancers of the liver, pancreas, and uterine corpus — are increasing.
Because death due to heart disease has declined considerably, cancer is now the leading cause of death in 21 states, according to the report.
Treatment advances have contributed to dramatic declines in leukemia-related death among children and adolescents, defined as those aged 19 years or younger. Brain cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related death in that demographic.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among both men (27%) and women (26%). Prostate cancer is projected to remain the leading cause of new diagnoses in men (21%), whereas breast cancer will account for the most new cancer cases among women (29%). – by Anthony SanFilippo
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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