Cancer Rates Are Dropping

(November 28, 2008) - Both the rates for newly diagnosed cancers and the death rate from cancer (Read about "Cancer: What It Is") have dropped, according to the latest report from the National Cancer Institute. The report says both incidence and death rates for all cancers combined are decreasing for both men and women, driven largely by declines in some of the most common types of cancer.

Although cancer death rates have been dropping since the publication of the first Annual Report to the Nation 10 years ago, the latest edition marks the first time the report has documented a simultaneous decline in cancer incidence, the rate at which new cancers are diagnosed, for both men and women.

The decline in both incidence and death rates for all cancers combined is due in large part to declines in the three most common cancers among men (lung, colon/rectum, and prostate) and the two most common cancers among women (breast and colon/rectum), combined with a leveling off of lung cancer death rates among women. (Read about "Lung Cancer" "Colorectal Cancer" "The Prostate" "Breast Cancer")

"The drop in incidence seen in this year's Annual Report is something we've been waiting to see for a long time," said Otis W. Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS). "However, we have to be somewhat cautious about how we interpret it, because changes in incidence can be caused not only by reductions in risk factors for cancer, but also by changes in screening practices. Regardless, the continuing drop in mortality is evidence once again of real progress made against cancer, reflecting real gains in prevention, early detection, and treatment."

Among men, incidence rates dropped for cancers of the lung, colon/rectum, oral cavity and stomach. (Read about "Oral Cancer" "Stomach Cancer") In contrast, incidence rates increased for cancers of the liver, kidney and esophagus, as well as for melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma. (Read about "Liver Cancer" "Kidney Cancer" "Esophagus Cancer" "Skin Cancer" "Lymphoma" "Multiple Myeloma and Plasmacytoma") Incidence rates were stable for cancers of the bladder, pancreas, and brain/nervous system, and for leukemia. (Read about "Bladder Cancer" "Pancreatic Cancer" "Brain Tumors" "Leukemia")

For women, incidence rates dropped for cancers of the breast, colon/rectum, uterus, ovary, cervix and oral cavity but increased for cancers of the lung, thyroid, pancreas, brain/nervous system, bladder, and kidney, as well as for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and melanoma. (Read about "Uterine Cancer" "The Ovaries" "Thyroid Cancer")