- The rate of new cancer cases as well as cancer death rates are declining in the United States. This is according to a new study published in A Cancer Journal for Clinicians May 27, 2009.
· Cancer remains the leading cause of death in the United States with about 1.5 million new diagnoses and about 500,000 deaths each year.
· The good news is that there has been a steady decline in cancer rates and cancer related deaths over the past 15 years. The declining cancer rates are equal to about 650,000 deaths prevented or delayed.

· According to study authors, there has been a decline in both cancer cases and cancer-related deaths. Between 1990 and 2005, the cancer death rate decreased by 19% in men and 11% in women.
The decline in cancer death rates in men were largely due to decreasing rates of lung, prostate, and colon cancers.
In women, the decline in cancer death rates were largely due to declining rates in breast and colon cancers.

· The authors of the report “the lifetime probability of being diagnosed with an invasive cancer is 44% for men and 37% for women. Because of the earlier median age of diagnosis for breast cancer, compared with other major malignancies (cancer), women appear to have a slightly higher probability of being diagnosed with cancer before the age of 60 years.”

They added, “although progress has been made in reducing incidence and mortality rates and improving survival, cancer still accounts for more deaths than heart disease in persons younger than 85 years of age.”

These advances are largely attributed to the most common forms of cancer: lung, breast, prostate, and colon. More research is needed to address other forms of cancer such as pancreatic, and brain cancer which continue to have high death rates without good treatment.

Cristopher Geiler, MD
May 27th 2009
CA Cancer J Clin. May 27, 2009.
caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/abstract/caac.20006v1