The annual cancer statistics report from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) — which was published in the journal Cancer on Monday, April 21 — shows some signs of progress in America’s fight against the disease.
Overall, rates of new cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths have declined.
Between 2018 and 2022, cancer death rates have decreased by 1.7% each year for men and 1.3% for women, the report stated.
“Cancer death rates are falling among both men and women because of many factors — including better screening, early intervention, more advanced surgical approaches and better targeted therapies,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.
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Smoking-related cancers in particular (lung, bladder and larynx) saw significant declines in new cases and deaths, the researchers noted, likely driven by reduced tobacco use and changes in screening recommendations.
For adult males, mortality rates declined for 12 of the most common cancer types between 2018 and 2022, including prostate, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, esophagus, melanoma of the skin, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, colon and rectum, leukemia, myeloma, stomach, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and lung and bronchus.
Lung and bronchus cancer saw the biggest decline in deaths, falling by 4.5% each year in that four-year timeframe, according to the report.
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“This is largely due to early and more effective screening, robotic lung surgery (which can get the cancer before it escapes the lung), and more effective targeted and immunotherapies when it does escape the lung,” Siegel said.
Men’s death rates increased for cancers of pancreas, bones and joints, oral cavity and pharynx, and non-melanoma skin cancer during this period.
Among women, 14 common cancers had reduced death rates, including brain and other nervous system, cervix, soft tissue including heart, urinary bladder, kidney and renal pelvis, breast, stomach, leukemia, colon and rectum, myeloma, gallbladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovary, and lung and bronchus, the researchers stated.
Lung and bronchus cancer deaths also declined the most for women, falling 3.4% annually between 2018 and 2022.
“As of 2021, the death rate from breast cancer fell by 42% from its peak in 1989, thanks to treatment and screening advancements,” the report noted.
Death rates increased for cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, corpus and uterus, and liver and intrahepatic bile duct for women during this timeframe.
Among children, cancer death rates fell by 1.5% per year between 2001 and 2022, the data showed.
Among teens and young adults (15 to 39 years of age), cancer-related mortality decreased by 2.9% per year from 2001 to 2005 and 1% per year from 2005 and 2020.
Death rates did not change for the above group between 2020 and 2022.
Among men, new cancer diagnoses fell by 1.6% to 2.2% each year between 2001 and 2013.
Those rates remained stable between 2013 and 2021, according to the researchers.
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Between 2017 and 2021, men’s diagnoses decreased for cancer of the brain and other nervous system, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, colon and rectum, thyroid, urinary bladder, larynx, and lung and bronchus.
Lung and bronchus cancer saw the biggest decline in cases, falling 3.4% per year.
Six cancers saw an increase in diagnoses. Those included prostate, pancreas, oral cavity and pharynx, kidney and renal pelvis, myeloma and testis, as listed in the report.
Prostate cancer saw the sharpest increase, rising 2.9% per year.
New cases remained stable for the following cancer types: stomach, melanoma of the skin, esophagus, leukemia, and liver and intrahepatic bile duct.
For women, the report noted that new cancer cases rose by 0.3% per year between 2003 and 2021.
Women saw an increase in eight cancers: stomach, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, melanoma of the skin, breast, myeloma, pancreas, corpus and uterus, and oral cavity and pharynx.
“The reduction in fertility rates, advancing age at first birth, and rises in obesity and alcohol consumption are likely driving rising rates of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer,” the researchers stated.
The researchers also noted that 16% of all breast cancer cases can be linked to drinking alcohol.
Regarding the increase in uterine cancer cases and deaths, the researchers cited risk factors of excess body weight, physical inactivity, diabetes and early menstruation.
Stomach cancer cases were the fastest-growing in women, rising 3.2% per year.
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“Women have rising rates of new cancer cases across more sites than men,” the report authors wrote. “However, the increase in stomach cancer cases likely relates to how certain tumors in the stomach — gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GISTs — are now all classified as malignant.”
“This change happened based on better understanding of these types of rare tumors and does not reflect a change in the underlying cancer burden.”
The report also pointed out that new cases of female cancers increased in areas associated with excess body weight — including the breast, uterus, colon and rectum among teens and young adults and the pancreas, kidney and liver among women.
The following cancers decreased among women between 2017 and 2021: brain and other nervous system, cervix, colon and rectum, urinary bladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovary, thyroid, and lung and bronchus.
Lung and bronchus cancer cases saw the sharpest decrease among women, declining 2.1% per year.
Kidney and renal pelvis cancer and leukemia remained relatively stable among women.
Overall, the research showed that new children’s cancer cases dipped by 0.8% per year between 2017 and 2021.
The biggest decline was seen in the rate of new brain and other nervous system cancers, which dropped by 2.9% per year.
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There were increases, however, in new cases of leukemia (0.5% per year) and lymphoma (0.6%) between 2017 and 2021.
The most common cancers affecting children included leukemia, brain and other nervous system, and lymphoma.
Among teens and young adults, new cancer diagnoses remained stable between 2017 and 2021.
The most common disease types among this group were female breast cancer, thyroid cancer and testicular cancer.
Siegel added, “The team approach to cancer treatment is also decreasing mortality, with combined approaches by surgeons, medical subspecialists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and nurse practitioners.”
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New cancer cases had fallen with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, returning to “expected levels” in 2021, the report said.
Due to this anomaly, the 2020 case data was analyzed separately and was not included in the cancer trend analysis.