The American Cancer Society’s annual analysis of U.S. government health data shows a decrease in cancer deaths for the first time in 70 years, and that downward trend is projected to continue in 2006 and beyond.
Cancer Projections for 2006
Although the number of cancer deaths is expected to decline again in 2006, the number of new cancer cases is likely to rise, because the U.S. population will be larger and older than ever before. The oldest baby boomers are turning 60 this year, and the rest of the baby boom generation—roughly 78 million Americans who represent more than a quarter of the U.S. population—are in their 40s and 50s. Given the demographics of an aging population, the trend toward fewer cancer deaths is even more significant.
According to Cancer Facts & Figures 2006, 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and 565,000 will die from some form of cancer, down from an estimated 570,280 in 2005. Approximately one-third of the cancer deaths will be related to tobacco use, and another third will be related to nutrition, physical activity, excess weight or obesity.
According to the American Cancer Society, almost all of these cancer deaths could be prevented.
Other Highlights of the Report:
- Better prevention, early detection and advances in treatment have helped some developed nations lower incidence and mortality rates for certain cancers, but in most parts of the world cancer is a growing problem. Cancer killed 6.7 million people worldwide in 2002, and the global cancer death toll is expected to increase to 10.3 million in 2020.
- Most cancers are linked to a few controllable factors such as tobacco use, poor diet, lack of exercise and infectious diseases. In developed nations, poor nutrition, inadequate physical activity and obesity are second only to tobacco use as causes of cancer.
- Tobacco use is the number one cause of cancer and the leading cause of preventable death throughout the world. If current trends continue, 650 million people alive today will eventually die of tobacco-related diseases, including cancers of the lungs, esophagus and bladder.
- Lung cancer is still expected to be the leading cancer killer in both men and women in 2006, with 87 percent of those deaths linked to smoking. The report lists 15 different types of cancer that are related to tobacco use.
- Lung cancer incidence and death rates continue to decrease in men. Among women, the lung cancer incidence rate has leveled off, but death rates continue to increase. Lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer death in the U.S, with an estimated 174,470 new cases and 162,460 deaths expected in 2006.
- Breast cancer remains the most common cancer other than skin cancer among women in the United States, with an estimated 212,920 new cases and 40,970 deaths expected in 2006. Despite increasing incidence, particularly among older women, the death rate from breast cancer continues to decline.
- Prostate cancer is the most common cancer other than skin cancer among men in the United States, with an estimated 234,460 new cases and 27,350 deaths expected in 2006. Although death rates have decreased since the early 1990s, prostate cancer death rates among African-American men remain more than twice as among white men.
- Colon and rectum cancer combined are the third most common cancer in both men and women, with 148,610 new cases projected in 2006. Incidence rates decreased by 1.8 percent annually between 1998 and 2002. Scientists believe the decrease is partly due to an increase in screening exams and polyp removal, which prevents polyps from turning into cancer.
"Colon cancer screening is probably one of the most underused ways to save one's life from cancer that exists," Thun said in a press release from the American Cancer Society. "But we have a long way to go on this screening. Only about half of people are getting screened . . . It's low across the board, but it's particularly low in people who lack health insurance and have other obstacles that make it especially hard.”
