Annual Report to the Nation Says Cancer Deaths Continue Downward Trend
Overall cancer death rates continued to decline (https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.34479) from 2015–2019 among men, women, children, adolescents, and young adults in every major racial and ethnic group, according to the October 2022 (https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2022/annual-report-to-the-nation-2022) Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Cancer Society, and North American Association of Central Cancer Registries jointly issue the report each year to monitor cancer trends across society.
From 2015–2019, overall cancer death rates decreased (https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.34479) by 2.1% per year in men and women combined, falling 2.3% per year for men and 1.9% per year for women. Lung cancer and melanoma saw the steepest declines (https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.34479) for both men and women. Additionally, from 2014–2018, overall cancer incidence (https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.34479) remained stable for men and children but increased for women, adolescents, and young adults.
“The findings in this year’s Annual Report to the Nation show our ongoing progress against cancer, continuing a more-than-two–decade trend in declining mortality that reflects improvements in preventing, detecting, and treating cancer,” Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, NCI director, said (https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2022/annual-report-to-the-nation-2022?cid=eb_govdel). “The advancements shown in the report underscore the importance of working together across society to develop effective, equitable approaches to tackle this complex disease. I look forward to working with all our partners in the cancer community to meet these challenges head on, because people affected by cancer—and that includes all of us—are counting on it.”
“Today’s report is good news in our fight against cancer and is a reminder of the importance of President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative,” Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said (https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2022/annual-report-to-the-nation-2022?cid=eb_govdel). “I’m deeply impressed by the progress we’re making against cancer and firmly believe we can meet the President’s goal of reducing the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years. We can and must end cancer as we know it.”