According to data from the nation's top cancer organizations, the number of U.S. lives lost to cancer fell by 2.1 % each year between 2002 and 2004 -- almost twice the 1.1% annual rate of decline noted between 1993 and 2002.
The report is compiled each year by experts at the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. It appears in the Nov. 15 issue of Cancer.
Drawing on state and national data, the report's authors found continued declines in deaths for the majority of the 15 most commonly diagnosed cancers. And there's potentially more good news ahead, because fewer Americans appear to be developing cancer than ever before.
Prevention appears to be key, experts say. For example, colorectal cancer incidence declined by approximately 2% per year between 2002 and 2004 for both sexes – probably due to better screening, they say. Breast cancer rates fell by 3.4% per year during the same time period, possibly linked to declines in the use of hormone replacement therapy.
The rate of increase of the nation's biggest cancer killer, lung cancer, also slowed substantially among women between 1998 and 2004 – almost certainly linked to a drop in the number of female smokers. For men, the rate of newly diagnosed lung cancers continued to fall by 1.8% each year between 1991 and 2004, the report found.
"The evidence is unmistakable: We are truly turning the tide in the cancer battle," Dr. John R. Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement.
There's work still to be done however: The incidence of certain malignancies, including myelomas, leukemias and cancers of the bladder, liver and esophagus, continue to rise, with potential increases in mortality, the report found.
"The gains could be even greater if everyone in the US had access to essential health care, including primary care and prevention services," Seffrin said.
