U.S. Cancer Death Rate Declines But Cure Still Out of Reach


The New York Academy of Sciences

Research efforts still needed as death rates continue to rise in certain cancer types.

According to a joint report by the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, death rates for all cancers in the U.S. have declined steadily over the past two decades, resulting in a 20% drop in cancer deaths since 1991. Declined death rates for lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers in particular contribute greatly to this reduction, accounting for more than two-thirds of the overall death rate during this time.

While overall death rates decreased by 1.8% per year among men, 1.4% per year among women, and 1.9% per year among children ages 0–14 from 2001 to 2010, however, death rates for some cancers increased during this period, including liver and pancreas cancers for both sexes, uterine cancer in women, and cutaneous melanoma and soft tissue cancers in men. . . .

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