U.S. Cancer Death Rate Continues to Fall
Mar-11-2016

Overall rates of cancer and deaths from cancer in the United States continue to decline, a newly released report says.

However, an increase in liver cancer deaths is cause for concern, the report authors noted. An increase in hepatitis C infections is likely a major reason for the increase, they said.

"The latest data show many cancer prevention programs are working and saving lives," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a news release from the organizations that issued the report.

"But the growing burden of liver cancer is troublesome. We need to do more work promoting hepatitis testing, treatment, and vaccination," Frieden added.

The Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer is released each year by the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.

Between 2003 and 2012, the overall death rate for all cancers fell 1.5 percent a year. There were decreases in cancer deaths for both men and women, and among all major racial and ethnic groups.

During that time, rates of new cancer cases fell among men and remained stable for women. The drop in new cancer cases is largely due to progress in prevention and early detection, and the decrease in cancer deaths may also be due to improved treatments, the experts suggested.

Tobacco control programs have contributed to lower rates of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, along with other types of cancer, according to the report.

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