hello this is Dr. Otis Brawley
chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society
as you probably heard the society recently released
two of it's signature scientific publications cancer facts & figures
and the cancer statistics article these publications provide a concise summary
of important cancer statistics in a consumer-friendly format
these articles are also useful resources to all society staff
this presentation highlights some of the important information
and issues cancer facts & figures and the cancer statistics publication
let's start with death rate really the best way to measure progress against
cancer
unlike incident which can be affected by things like screening rates
cancer death rates truly reflect the impact of things like prevention
early detection and improvements in treatment
overall cancers the number two leading cause of death in the United States
second only to heart disease
cancer accounts for nearly one-quarter deaths in the United States
in 2006 the latest year for which we have data
there were almost 560,000 cancer deaths in the United States
in 2009 it is estimated at more than 292,000 men
and almost 270,000 women will die from cancer
lung cancer is by far the most common fatal cancer in men and women
in men lung is followed by prostate and colorectal cancer
in women lung is followed by breast and colorectal cancer
as the top causes of cancer deaths
the good news is the cancer death rates have been declining since the early
nineteen nineties in both men and women
compared to the peak rates in the early nineties
the cancer death rate for all sites combined in 2005
was19.2 percent lower in men
an 11.4 percent lower in women steeper drops in manner due
primarily to historical differences in smoking patterns
between men and women so which cancers are driving this dramatic progress
against cancer death?
in men about 40 percent the overall decrease in cancer death rates
a due to drops in lung cancer mortality since 1991
death rates for prostate cancer also been declining steeply
in part due to improvements in treatment colorectal cancer deaths
in men are also down dramatically due to both early detection and the better
treatments
stomach cancer mortality has been dropping in the US since the 1930s
due in part to the advent refrigeration
stomach cancer still a major killer and non industrialized countries
in women breast cancer death rates changed little between 1930 and 1990
but decreased 27 percent between 1990 and 2005
due again to early detection using mammography
and better treatments colon cancer death rates have been decreasing among women
for more than fifty years
also death rates for stomach and uterine cancer
have decreased steadily since 1930 this is a new calculation epidemiologist
began doing a couple years ago
we looked at how many deaths have been avoided or delayed since death rates
began dropping
we conclude that more than 650,000 cancer deaths
that would have occurred had we not turn a corner in the early 1990s
have been averted however there is still work to be done
while cancer death rates dropping among all races
they continue to be higher in african-americans compared to whites
importantly though progress is being made
since 1996 the decline in death rates have been steeper in african-americans
among whom rates are dropping 2.5 percent per year
than for white men from whom death rates are dropping
about 1.6 percent per year
now we turn our attention to cancer incidence
is estimated that about 1.5 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in
2009
a little over half of those 766,000
will be in men cancer in the prostate
lung and colon will be the most frequently diagnosed cancers in men
in women breast lung and colon cancers
will be the most common types you'll notice while lung cancer
is the top cause of cancer death is number two in both men and women
inspires incidents
but the good news was reported this year cancer incidence is declining for all
cancers combined in both men and women
this slide shows that overall cancer incidence declined by 1.8 percent per year
from 2001 through 2005 in men
and by 0.6 percent per year from 1998 through 2005 in women
by the way the peak in incidence in the early 1990s in man
is due to the widespread use of PSA screening tests
which detected many cases of prostate cancer in men
the incidence of prostate lung and colon cancers have declined in recent years
again you can clearly see the peak in the early 1990s
when PSA began to be used fairly routinely
a reminder that the American Cancer Society does not recommend
routine screening for prostate cancer
is still questionable as to whether it reduces mortality
lung cancer rates are dropping thanks to less smoking
and colon cancer rates are dropping as more people get colon cancer tests
and had polyps removed before they turn cancerous
in women incidence of breast and colorectal cancers have declined for colorectal
cancers that's because of polyps being removed before they become cancerous
breast cancer rates are dropping probably due to a combination of less
post menopausal hormones used
which raises the risk for breast cancer a slight drop in mammography utilization
which may delay the diagnosis of some tumors lung cancer rates
which increased steadily prior to 1991
have begun to level off in men
cancer incidence rates are consistently higher in african-american men
compared to white men
in contrast incidence rates are generally lower
in african-american women compared to white women although the difference is
not great
but even among men you can see the gap is closing
another sign in progress overall cancer survival rates have improved
significantly
from about 50 percent in the 1970s the sixty-six percent in recent years
this is due in part to both earlier detection
and advances in treatment thank you for your attention to these important
findings
the American Cancer Society is saving lives by helping people stay well
helping people get well by finding cures and by fighting back against cancer
cancer facts & figures documents the progress that has been made
toward creating a world with more birthdays