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US cancer mortality rates continue to drop: study
- By News Hound
- Published 10/19/2007
- Health & Wellness
- Unrated
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View all articles by News HoundUS cancer mortality rates continue to drop: study
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US cancer death rates dropped by a yearly average of 2.1 percent from 2002 to 2004 -- nearly double the rate of the preceding decade -- according to a study by the country's top cancer research groups.
The study found fewer deaths from colorectal cancer in men and women, prostate and lung cancer in men, and breast cancer in women.
Lung cancer deaths fell two percent for men, and rose 0.2 percent for women, a rate increase researchers said was still lower than the 1993-2002 period.
"The significant decline in cancer death rates demonstrates important progress in the fight against cancer that has been achieved through effective tobacco control, screening, early detection and appropriate treatment," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Julie Gerberding.
"The evidence is unmistakable: we are truly turning the tide in the cancer battle," said American Cancer Society (ACS) chairman John Seffrin.
"The gains could be even greater if everyone in the US had access to essential healthcare, including primary care and prevention services," he added.
The ACS said 1.4 million Americans will have been diagnosed with cancer this year, with 560,000 expected to die also in 2007.
The study was carried out jointly by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC and the ACS.
The nearly five percent drop in colorectal cancer deaths for both genders is likely explained by the early detection of precancerous polyps among people above 50, thanks to widespread endoscopic examination or colonoscopy, the study said.
Colorectal cancer death rates dropped 4.9 percent for men, and 4.5 percent for women each year between 2002 and 2004, it added.
The decline in lung cancer in both men and women was attributed to fewer people smoking.
"Incidence rates for female breast cancer dropped substantially from 2001 through 2004 ... possibly related to declining use of hormone replacement therapy as well as the recently reported decline in use of screening mammography," the report said.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGfaSo9KNPd3MV4IKGlbmNwXCuDA
The study found fewer deaths from colorectal cancer in men and women, prostate and lung cancer in men, and breast cancer in women.
Lung cancer deaths fell two percent for men, and rose 0.2 percent for women, a rate increase researchers said was still lower than the 1993-2002 period.
"The significant decline in cancer death rates demonstrates important progress in the fight against cancer that has been achieved through effective tobacco control, screening, early detection and appropriate treatment," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Julie Gerberding.
"The evidence is unmistakable: we are truly turning the tide in the cancer battle," said American Cancer Society (ACS) chairman John Seffrin.
"The gains could be even greater if everyone in the US had access to essential healthcare, including primary care and prevention services," he added.
The ACS said 1.4 million Americans will have been diagnosed with cancer this year, with 560,000 expected to die also in 2007.
The study was carried out jointly by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC and the ACS.
The nearly five percent drop in colorectal cancer deaths for both genders is likely explained by the early detection of precancerous polyps among people above 50, thanks to widespread endoscopic examination or colonoscopy, the study said.
Colorectal cancer death rates dropped 4.9 percent for men, and 4.5 percent for women each year between 2002 and 2004, it added.
The decline in lung cancer in both men and women was attributed to fewer people smoking.
"Incidence rates for female breast cancer dropped substantially from 2001 through 2004 ... possibly related to declining use of hormone replacement therapy as well as the recently reported decline in use of screening mammography," the report said.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGfaSo9KNPd3MV4IKGlbmNwXCuDA
