Cancer Death Rates Drop Again

It was reported this morning that cancer death rates dropped again for the second year in a row. According to a review of death certificates by the American Cancer Society, there was a decline of 369 cancer-related deaths from 2002 to 2003. From 2003 to 2004, the death rate decline was 3,014, which was eight times greater than the previous year.

The drop in cancer-related deaths from 2002 to 2003 was the first annual decrease since 1930. Since the decline was slight, experts were hesitant to announce the news since they weren't sure it if was just a fluke. The American Cancer Society officials say that it is real and not just a fluke. "It's not only continuing. The decrease in the second year is much larger," said Ahmedin Jemal, an American Cancer Society researcher.

The American Cancer Society states that the cancer deaths in 2002 totaled 557,271; in 2003 cancer deaths totaled 556,902; and in 2004 cancer deaths totaled 553,888. Experts believe the decline is due to the fact that more people have quit smoking, earlier detection and more effective tumor treatments. Because of more effective treatments and earlier detection, death rates for breast, colorectal and prostate cancer have also fallen, which are three of the most common cancers. Among these three types of common cancers, the highest rate of decrease in deaths was for colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer deaths have dropped by 1,110 in men and by 1,094 in women.

Breast cancer still remains to be the most common cancer among women in the United States. The rate of skin cancer is also very high among women. In 2006, there were approximately 213,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed, with almost 41,000 deaths expected. In 2007, it is projected that there will be 178,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed.

The rates for colon and rectum cancer, which is the third most common cancer among men and women, were estimated at approximately 150,000 new diagnoses in 2006 with 27,000 deaths expected. In 2007, the projected rates have dropped to 112,000 and 52,000 respectively.

"The biggest driver in colon cancer's decline in mortality is colon cancer screening, which has proven to save lives," said Dr. Otis Brawley, who is an Emory University researcher that specializes in cancer epidemiology.

From 1998 through 2002, there has been a 1.8% rate drop per year due to the increase in colonoscopy screenings and polyp removals. Even so, only about half of the population is getting screened for colon cancer due to a lot of people not having health insurance and other financial difficulties.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in men. The rate of skin cancer is also very high among men. In 2006, it was estimated that there would be approximately 235,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed and 27,000 deaths. In 2007, new cases of prostate cancer are predicted to reach approximately 219,000 with 27,000 deaths. So even though new instances of prostate cancer are expected to fall, the death rate for this type of cancer is predicted to remain the same as in 2006.

The lung cancer rate in men has been falling, but lung cancer statistics in women are staying the same.

Health statisticians were recording annual deaths from cancer at about 1% (the calculated number of deaths per 100,000 people) for over 10 years. But due to the growing elderly population and overall population growth, the actual number of cancer deaths still rose each year. In 2003 and 2004, the cancer death rates dropped by approximately 2% each year and this was able to offset the effects of aging and population growth.

The American Cancer Society projects that approximately 1.4 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year and the cancer death rate is projected to reach almost 560,000 people. The American Cancer Society bases their statistics for new cancer cases on 9 years of previous data. For death rates, they are basing their statistics on 35 years of past data. This data predicts that the death rate from cancer will increase again. Even with the data, the American Cancer Society officials believe that cancer rates will continue to drop.

John Seffrin, PhD, American Cancer Society chief executive officer stated, "Now, for the first time, the advances we've made in prevention, early detection, and treatment are outpacing even the population factors that in some ways obscured that success."