Cancer Death Rates Continue to Decline in the U.S.

Slowly but surely, the death rate from cancer is going down in the United States, thanks to better methods of preventing, detecting and treating the disease. Between 1990 and 2005, about 650,000 lives were spared from cancer, according to the American Cancer Society’s annual cancer statistics report, "Cancer Facts and Figures 2009." During the fifteen-year period, the cancer death rate among men dropped by 19.2 percent, while the cancer death rate for women fell by 11.4 percent. Cancer incident rates also declined; 1.8 percent a year among men from 2001 to 2005 and 0.6 percent a year from 1998 to 2005 among women.

“A drop of 1 or 2 percent per year may sound small, but as this report shows, that adds up to 650,000 cancer deaths avoided over 15 years,” said Dr. John R. Seffrin, American Cancer Society chief executive officer. “And because the rate continues to drop, it means that in recent years, about 100,000 people each year who would have died had cancer rates not declined are living to celebrate another birthday. That is undeniable evidence of the lifesaving progress that we as a country must dedicate ourselves to continuing.”

Decreased deaths due to lung, prostate, and colorectal cancer accounted for nearly 80 percent of the decline among men, reflecting improvements in early detection. “Colorectal cancer screening saves lives because it detects cancer at early stages when treatment is more effective, and it also removes precancerous lesions,” said lead researcher Ahmedin Jemal. Additionally, 91 percent of prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed early, giving men a 100 percent chance of surviving at least five years.

While lung cancer deaths declined among men, the death rates for women with lung cancer continue to rise. According to the new statistics, lung cancer is expected to account for 16 percent of all cancer deaths in women in 2009. “We haven’t seen a decrease here yet, but cigarette smoking in women peaked about 20 years later than it did in men,” Jemal says. “We’re going to see a reduction in lung cancer death rates, although I don’t know when it might be. In particular, we will see a reduction in cancer death rates among women that’s going to drive (down) the overall cancer death rate.”

Approximately 37 percent of the decrease among women was due to fewer breast cancer deaths, which experts say correlates strongly with the decreased use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer. “Any life spared from cancer or serious illness is a victory, but success comes in little steps—one life at a time,” says Dr. Marisa Weiss, director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania and founder of the advocacy group Breastcancer.org. “It’s great news that a large chunk of the decreased death rates in women can be attributed to breast cancer,” she said.

But Dr. Weiss thinks another factor could be contributing to the decline in breast cancer deaths. “Fewer women are getting mammography and that’s why fewer women are getting diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “Eventually that will come back and bite us in the rear end.” She is also concerned that the obesity epidemic may prompt a rise in breast cancer rates. “Fat makes extra hormones, which lead to extra cell activity and extra abnormal cell activity,” she says. “Fat is a storing facility for hormonally active pollutants, so if you are overweight, you’re more likely to hold on to some chemicals in the environment that enter your body from food and water.” She adds that “fat brings on puberty earlier and early puberty is a risk factor for breast cancer.”

Experts stress there is still a great deal of work to be done in the fight against cancer. The study researchers estimate that there will be nearly 1.5 million new cancer diagnosis and about 562,340 cancer deaths in 2009; an average of 1,500 Americans each day. “It’s good news that the death rates for the most common cancers are on the decline, but there are still too many Americans dying of cancer every year,” said Dr. Alan Astrow, director of medical oncology and hematology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s troubling that African-Americans continue to experience higher rates of mortality from cancer than whites. It’s also troubling that Americans with less education have higher death rates. There are continued high rates of deaths from lung cancer. It’s hard to feel good about 160,000 Americans dying of lung cancer every year. That’s a disturbing statistic which we, as a nation, need to address.”
 
The findings are published in the July/August issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.