Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

Health

Discussion

January 8, 2013

Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

By LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press Tue Jan 08, 2013, 06:04 AM CST

WASHINGTON — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.

Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer.

“There has been clear progress,” said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer advocacy groups.

But bad diets, lack of physical activity and obesity together wield “incredible forces against this decline in mortality,” Brawley said. He warned that over the next decade, that trio could surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer in the U.S.

Overall, deaths from cancer began slowly dropping in the 1990s, and Monday’s report shows the trend holding. Among men, cancer death rates dropped by 1.8 percent a year between 2000 and 2009, and by 1.4 percent a year among women. The drops are thanks mostly to gains against some of the leading types — lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers — because of treatment advances and better screening.

The news isn’t all good. Deaths still are rising for certain cancer types including liver, pancreatic and, among men, melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer.

Preventing cancer is better than treating it, but when it comes to new cases of cancer, the picture is more complicated.

Cancer incidence is dropping slightly among men, by just over half a percent a year, said the report published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Prostate, lung and colorectal cancers all saw declines.

But for women, earlier drops have leveled off, the report found. That may be due in part to breast cancer. There were decreases in new breast cancer cases about a decade ago, as many women quit using hormone therapy after menopause. Since then, overall breast cancer incidence has plateaued, and rates have increased among black women.

Another problem area: Oral and anal cancers caused by HPV, the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, are on the rise among both genders. HPV is better known for causing cervical cancer, and a protective vaccine is available. Government figures show just 32 percent of teen girls have received all three doses, fewer than in Canada, Britain and Australia. The vaccine was recommended for U.S. boys about a year ago.

Among children, overall cancer death rates are dropping by 1.8 percent a year, but incidence is continuing to increase by just over half a percent a year. Brawley said it’s not clear why.

Text Only

Health

Her Doctor Dismissed the Lump in Her Breast
It was on the weekend of my 25th birthday that my boyfriend alerted me to a lump in my left breast. At first dismissive of his concern, I eventually promised to see my gynecologist. I was due for my annual exam anyway.

May 15, 2013 1 Photo
Tenn. hospital treats drug-dependent babies
He's less than two weeks old, but he shows the telltale signs of a baby agitated and in pain: an open sore on his chin where he's rubbed the skin raw, along with a scratch on his left check.

May 13, 2013 1 Photo
‘Fibro Fighter’ struggles with fatigue, debilitating pain
For some people life is a little more complicated than the normal rushing around with kids, doing errands, being on time for work and other everyday routines that consume most of our waking moments.

May 12, 2013 2 Photos
AP Exclusive: Calif. exchange granted secrecy
A California law that created an agency to oversee national health care reforms granted it broad authority to conceal spending on the contractors that will perform most of its functions, potentially shielding the public from seeing how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent.

May 10, 2013
Drugmakers, health groups bring poor girls vaccine
Two multinational drugmakers are teaming up with top global health groups to protect millions of girls in the world's poorest countries from deadly cervical cancer.

May 9, 2013 1 Photo
Study: Fish oil doesn’t help prevent heart attacks
Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found.

May 9, 2013
Most and least-fit states in the U.S.
A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control highlights adult fitness levels based on participation in aerobic and muscle-building activities. Find out which states came in with the fittest and least-fit populations.

May 8, 2013 1 Photo
Bashful? Buy the little blue pill online
Men who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom no longer have to go to the drugstore to buy that little blue pill.

May 6, 2013
FDA wants cancer warnings on tanning beds
Indoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by the Food and Drug Administration.

May 6, 2013
The Lifefirst family
Young Vincent Karolewics dreamed of becoming a naval fighter pilot.

May 6, 2013 2 Photos
More Health Headlines

Health

Search Results

Discussion

Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

Site Map

Contact Us