American Cancer Society reports historic drop in deaths

Following a decline in the number of actual cancer deaths in the US from 557,271 in 2002 to 556,902 in 2003, the first decline in over 70 years according to figures from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in the US, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has forecast a 'slight decline' in actual cancer deaths for 2006.

The net decrease of 369 was made up of a drop of 778 in cancer deaths in men and a rise of 409 in women. The 2003 figures, the most recent available. are included in the ACS' 55th edition of Cancer Facts & Figures, and while the decline cannot be guaranteed to continue, the ACS has described the figures as 'a notable milestone in the battle against cancer'.

Although the death rate (as a percentage) from all cancers combined has decreased in the US since 1991, it was not until 2003 that the decrease was large enough to outpace the growth and aging of the population and reduce the actual number of cancer deaths. The number of new cancer cases is expected to rise to 1,399,790 million in the coming year, due largely to the increasing and ageing US population. Of these cases 564,830 are expected result in death, with one-third related to tobacco use and another third related to nutrition, physical activity or obesity.

While incidence and death rates as a result of lung cancer continue to decrease in men, death rates are rising in women, despite a steady level of incidence. It remains the top cause of cancer death in the US, with 174,470 new cases and 162,460 deaths expected in 2006.

Other than skin cancer, breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women, with an estimated 212,920 new cases and 40,970 deaths expected this year, and prostate cancer the most common among men, with 234,460 new cases and 27,350 deaths expected in 2006.

However, while death rates in both cancers are decreasing, despite increasing incidence in breast cancer, rates of prostate cancer in African American men are more than double those in white men.