US Pharm. 2012;37(1):40.
Declining cancer incidence has led to one million fewer cancer deaths in the U.S. over the past 20 years, according to data from the American Cancer Society (ACS).
From 1999 to 2008, cancer mortality decreased by more than 1% per year in men and women across racial and ethnic groups, with the exception of American Indians/Alaska Natives, which experienced stable cancer mortality. During this period, the rate of decline rose to 1.8% annually in men and 1.6% in women.
African-American and Hispanic men had the largest decreases in mortality, averaging 2.3% to 2.4% per year, said Rebecca Siegel, MPH, and colleagues in the ACS annual report, “Cancer Statistics, 2012,” published online in CA: Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Incidence of death from cancer reached a high point in men in 1990 (279.8 per 100,000) and in women in 1991 (175.3 per 100,000). From then until 2008 (latest available figures), cancer mortality decreased by 22.9% in men and 15.3% in women.
A decline in lung cancer mortality accounted for 40% of the total decline in men. Among women, the decline in breast cancer mortality accounted for 34% of the total decline, while breast and colorectal cancer together accounted for 56%.
