The United States has seen a 27% drop in the overall cancer death rate.
The United States has seen a 27% drop in the overall cancer death rate, which translates to about 2.6 million fewer deaths between 1991 and 2016. Since peaking in 1991, the cancer death rate has steadily declined by about 1.5% per year. The report estimates that in 2019, 1,762,450 new cancer cases and 606,880 cancer deaths will occur in the United States.
Reduction of the four main cancers
The decline in cancer mortality over the past two decades is primarily attributable to the steady decline in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment, reflected in declines in the four major cancers: lung cancer , breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.
The lung cancer mortality rate fell by 48% between 1990 and 2016 in men and by 23% between 2002 and 2016 in women. The mortality rate for women with breast cancer fell by 40% between 1989 and 2016. For prostate cancer, mortality declined by 51% from 1993 to 2016, and mortality from colorectal cancer decreased by 53% between 1970 and 2016.
Socioeconomic inequalities are on the rise
But contrary to the decreases observed for the most common cancers, mortality rates increased from 2012 to 2016 for cancers of the liver (1.2% per year in men; 2.6% per year in women), pancreas (in men only, 0.3% per year) and uterine body (2.1% per year). The same dynamic is observed for cancers of the brain and nervous system, soft tissues (including the heart), oral cavities and pharynx linked to the papillomavirus (HPV).
In addition, socioeconomic inequalities are on the rise, with people in less affluent areas facing an increasingly disproportionate burden of preventable cancers. For example, lung and liver cancer mortality is 40% higher among men living in poor neighborhoods. “Wider application of existing knowledge in cancer control, with a focus on disadvantaged groups, would undoubtedly accelerate progress in cancer control,” note the report’s authors.
The number of new cases of cancer in France is increasing
According to the national cancer institute (INCa), the number of new cases of cancer for 2017 in metropolitan France is estimated at 400,000, 214,000 in men and 185,500 in women. For 30 years, the overall number of new cases of cancer in France has been increasing every year.
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