American Cancer Society Reports Decrease in Cancer Death Rate Since 1991
The risk of dying from cancer in the United States has decreased over the past 28 years according to annual statistics reported by the American Cancer Society (ACS, www.cancer.org). The cancer death rate for men and women combined fell 32% from its peak in 1991 to 2019, the most recent year for which data were available. This translates to almost 3.5 million fewer cancer deaths during these years than what would have been expected if the death rate had not fallen. This success is largely because of fewer people smoking, which resulted in declines in lung and other smoking-related cancers. Other factors that contributed to the reduced death rate include: chemotherapy after surgery for breast and colon cancer; combination treatments for many cancers; and prevention and/or early detection through screening for some cancers, including cancer in the breast, cervix, colon, prostate, rectum, and more recently, lung.
Cancer continues to be the second most common cause of death in the US, after heart disease. A total of 1.9 million new cancer cases and 609,360 deaths from cancer are expected to occur in the US in 2022, which is about 1,670 deaths a day. To read more about these findings, visit acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15424863.
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of nearly two million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. To learn more, visit www.cancer.org or call (800) 227-2345.