Cancer deaths have declined 20% since 1991

Cancer deaths have declined 20% since 1991, which means there were 1.2 million fewer deaths from cancer in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society.

The overall cancer death rate decreased from 215 per 100,000 in 1991 to 173 per 100,000 in 2009. Rates declined more sharply for cancers of the lung and prostate in men, for breast cancers in women, and for colon and rectal cancers for men and women. The ACS attributes the drops to decreases in smoking and improvements in early detection and treatment.

The most common causes of cancer deaths in Americans, accounting for 50% of cancer deaths are cancers of the lung and bronchus, prostate and colorectum in men; and cancers of the lung and bronchus, breast and colorectum in women. This year, there will be 1.6 million cancer cases and 580,350 cancer deaths, according to estimates from the ACS.

The mortality figures and incidence are contained in two reports: Cancer Statistics 2013 and Cancer Facts & Figures 2013.

Incidence rates are on the decline for most cancers with the exception of melanoma, and liver, thyroid and pancreatic cancer.

President of the American Academy of Dermatology said in a statement that rising incidence of melanoma “is of particularly concern because skin cancer can often be easily prevented and detected.” That the AAD and its members “are actively working to reduce the incidence of skin cancer and change society’s attitudes and behaviors toward sun exposure and tanning.”

Death rate from pancreatic cancer has increased over the last decade, due to “a lack of progress in primary prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of this cancer.” Most patients with pancreatic cancer die within a year of diagnosis; the five-year survival rate is 6%.

The disparity in cancer outcomes based on ethnicity and income was noted “particularly those diagnosed with colorectal or breast cancer detection and better treatments are credited for the improving trends,” the chief executive officer of the ACS said in a statement.

The five-year survival rate in 2002-2008 for white women with breast cancer, for instance, was 92%; for black women, it was 78%. For colon cancer, the five-year survival rate was 66% for whites, but 55% for blacks.