Small, but steady declines in deaths seen over past decade
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, March 30, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- America is making slow but steady progress against cancer, with a continuing decline in cancer deaths, according to a new report.
The overall cancer death rate fell an average 1.5 percent per year between 2002 and 2011, representing improved survival for men, women and children, the report found.
The rate of new cancer cases also declined an average 0.5 percent a year during that period.
Experts say the promising figures reflect success in both treating and heading off cancer in the body's four most vulnerable sites -- the lungs, colon, breasts and prostate.
"These numbers reflect a combination of factors that include prevention, early detection and improved treatment," said report co-author Ahmedin Jemal, vice president of surveillance research for the American Cancer Society.
However, the new report also found that cancer rates are rising for some rarer forms of cancer, including cancer of the liver, mouth and throat, thyroid, and kidneys.
The annual report was published in the March 30 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The report was co-authored by experts from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Combining resources, the four groups concluded that cancer deaths fell 1.8 percent a year among men between 2002 and 2011, 1.4 percent a year for women and just over 2 percent a year for children.
New cancer cases fell slightly for men during that decade, while remaining level for women, according to the report. The incidence rate for new cancers in children 19 and younger increased, but by less than 1 percent a year, the report stated.
Those two trends indicate that cancer is being effectively prevented and, if it occurs, successfully treated, said Recinda Sherman, report co-author and program manager of data use and research for the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.
Advances in lung cancer are tied directly to fewer people smoking, while the decline in colon and breast cancers also are tied to prevention efforts, Sherman said.
source : Report Shows Progress in America's War on Cancer
