The US cancer death rate has fallen 33 percent over the past three decades, according to reassuring data that underscores the country’s progress in controlling the disease.
A report by the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 3.8 million deaths have been prevented since 1991 thanks to better treatments, diagnostics, awareness campaigns and healthier habits.
Lung and breast cancer saw the largest improvements in mortality – thanks to successful education campaigns and falling smoking rates – but there were also significant reductions in death rates from skin and blood cancers.
The ACS described the decline as “really impressive” but noted that death rates from some cancers still need to improve. President Joe Biden has set himself the goal of reducing cancer deaths in the next 25 years with his up to 1 billion
The chart above shows how cancer deaths have slowed in the United States. The blue line shows recorded deaths, while the red shows what would have happened if the country had stayed at the same growth rate. It is divided into men and women
The charts above, also broken down by gender, show the rate of cases of selected types of cancer detected annually in the United States. Cases of prostate and melanoma cancer are increasing in men, while breast cancer is increasing in women
The American Cancer Society’s annual report uses national statistics to analyze the nearly 200 types of cancer in the United States.
In 2020, the most recent year with data, about 143.8 Americans per 100,000 people died from cancer each year, compared with a peak of 215.1 in 1991.
The decline has accelerated over time, from 1 percent in the 1990s to around 2 percent between 2015 and 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, the first year of the Covid pandemic, it fell by 1.5 percent.
dr Karen Knudsen, ACS chief executive, described the numbers as “really impressive” in an interview with CNN.
She added, “New insights into prevention, early detection and treatment have led to real, meaningful improvements in many of the 200 diseases we call cancer.”
The chart above shows trends in cancer mortality over time. It shows a significant decrease in lung cancer cases due to improvements in treatment and fewer people starting to smoke
These are estimates of the number of cancer cases and deaths from selected types of cancer per year for the year 2023. Prepared by the American Cancer Society
The new report found that the five-year relative survival rate for all cancers has increased from 49 percent in the 1970s to 68 percent in 2020.
In 1990, the lung cancer death rate was over 200 deaths per 100,000 people, but by 2020 it had dropped to 144.
With around 130,000 deaths per year, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths.
Fewer smokers, improvements in screening, and advances in treatments were responsible for the decline.
About 10 percent of Americans smoke cigarettes or cigars today, compared with more than 40 percent in the 1970s.
Breast cancer — the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States — has also declined 43 percent since 1989.
This is due to a combination of earlier diagnosis due to better screening programs and improved treatments.
The report also found a dramatic drop in death rates from less common cancers.
For myeloid leukemia — a type of blood cancer — the five-year survival rate increased from 22 percent in the mid-1970s to 70 percent in 2018.
Survival rates for skin cancer also improved, with survival rates for those who survived more than three years after the cancer had spread to other areas of the body doubling from 20.6 percent to 39.3 percent over the past decade.
They also predicted a likely increase in cervical cancer survival rates.
Cases have fallen by 65 percent between 2012 and 2019 in women in their early 20s who were the first generation to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) — which increases the risk of cancer if it triggers an infection.
The chart above shows the rate of cancer cases and deaths by gender and overall. The male line is blue, the female line is pink, while the overall line is orange
Joe Biden Launches Supercharged Cancer Moonshot Program
Joe Biden said ending cancer “as we know it” was one of the reasons he ran for president in September, when he loaded his “Cancer Moonshot” initiative with a dash of Kennedy family glamor.
Biden, who wants to halve cancer deaths in the next 25 years, said cancer can be turned into a manageable and liveable disease.
He published his new gun call in the John F. Kennedy Library on the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s famous “Moonshot” speech in which JFK brought America together to take Russia to the moon – accomplished in 1969.
“In setting that goal, he set out a national purpose that could bring the American people together and a common cause. And he succeeded,” Biden said of JFK.
“Now in our time, on the 60th anniversary of his trumpet call, we stand at another turning point and together we can choose to move forward with unity, hope and optimism.
“I believe we can initiate the same unwillingness to procrastinate – the same national goal – that will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and abilities to end cancer as we know it.” And even cure cancer once and for all.”
The battle with cancer is personal for Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015.
The Cancer Moonshot, originally created when Biden was vice president, came after Beau’s death.
However, concerns have also been raised about rising case numbers, which could foreshadow a rise in deaths.
Breast, uterine and prostate cancer cases are increasing in the US, which may be due in part to improvements in early detection. However, it could also signal an increase in deaths as we move forward.
Doctors warned that the rise in uterine and breast cancers in women is largely due to the ongoing decline in fertility rates and rising obesity.
The ACS said in its report: “Concern is mounting [cases] for breast, prostate and cervical cancer, all of which have large racial disparities in mortality and are amenable to early detection.’
The report also noted that despite ongoing research, there has been no improvement in pancreatic cancer mortality rates.
Pancreatic cancer has one of the lowest survival rates in the US, with only 12 percent of patients living more than five years after their diagnosis.
This is mainly because it doesn’t trigger symptoms until late in the disease, when the cancer has likely already spread to other areas of the body. Its symptoms, when they occur, are also often confused with less sinister conditions.
For men, the death rate has increased from 12.1 to 12.7 deaths per 100,000 people over the past two decades, while for women it has remained at 9.3 to 9.6.
In its report, the ACS also estimates cancer cases and deaths for the coming year.
It showed that the number of cases to be detected will increase from 1.91 million to 1.96 million in 2023 due to improvements in screening.
The death toll is also expected to rise slightly from 609,300 to 609,800, likely due to the sheer number of people developing cancer rather than any reversal of progress.
White House Cancer Moonshot Coordinator Dr. Danielle Carnival, heralded the report as “great progress.”
She said: “The report, showing that US cancer deaths have fallen by a third over the past 30 years, is a major step forward that we are making by reducing smoking rates, improving early detection and providing better treatments for… reached many cancers.
“It means millions of American families have been spared the untold loss of a loved one.”
She added: “The report also highlights that there is still more work to be done to save more lives.
“President Biden’s vision to end cancer as we know it builds on the advances we’ve made, hands on deck, to create—and ensure—new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer ‘that the tools we have and the ones we are developing along the way are reaching all Americans.’