Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/63214
+++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++ DATA VAULT +++ +++ Cancer Deaths Continue to Decline NEW FIGURES SHOW THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER DEATHS HAS DECREASED, SPARING A MILLION LIVES OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. T HE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY has released a new report on the incidence of cancer deaths that shows death rates have declined by more than 1% per year over the past 10 years among most groups — death rates for American Indians/Alaska natives have remained stable, while rates among all other racial/ethnic populations have waned. The number of men's cancer deaths since 1990 and women's cancer deaths since 1991 has decreased by 1,024,400 people. Figures of Interest + Based on the latest available data (through 2008), death rates have fallen for all four major cancers: breast, colorectal, lung and prostate. + The biggest declines for men were seen in those with lung cancer (40%), and for women in those with breast cancer (34%). + Approximately 77% of all cancer diag- noses occur in people ages 55 and older. + Evidence of cancer remained constant for women but went down slightly for men, by 0.6% per year. + Rates of cancer deaths decreased for women by 1.6% per year and for men by 1.8% per year. + African-American and Hispanic men saw the sharpest declines in cancer mortality rates at 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively. And Some Bad News While the number of deaths from the four most common cancers — breast, colorectal, lung and prostate — is down, there has been an increase in the incidence of less-pervasive types. These include: + esophageal adenocarcinoma + kidney cancer + liver cancer + melanoma + pancreatic cancer + thyroid cancer Better detection methods might be one reason more cases have been reported. The increase in the number of people in the United States who are obese and the condition's close link to esophageal, kidney, liver and pancreatic cancers might be another. Projections for 2012 + Men are at risk for developing cancer with a slightly less than one in two lifetime chance. A woman's lifetime risk for cancer is approximately one in three. + Five-year survival rates are up to 67% based on data gathered from 2001 to 2007. Progress in early detection and effective treatments contribute to this improvement in fi ve-year survival rates, up from only 49% in 1975 to 1977. + Cancer is the nation's second leading killer, following only heart disease, which is the cause of one in four deaths in the United States. More than 1,500 Americans per day are expected to die of cancer in 2012. + Out of the 577,190 deaths from cancer in 2012, the American Cancer Society estimates 173,200 will be due to tobacco use. Other preventable risk factors for cancer, including lack of physical activity, obesity or being overweight, and poor nutrition, are expected to be responsible for one-third of all cancer deaths in 2012. s