patient and her father
Photo by Rhoda Baer
The US may see nearly 1.7 million new cancer cases in 2017 and more than 600,000 cancer-related deaths, according to a report from the American Cancer Society (ACS).
In addition to estimates for 2017, the report, “Cancer Statistics 2017,” includes the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival in the US.
The report was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The report projects there will be 1,688,780 new cancer cases and 600,920 cancer deaths in the US this year.
This includes:
- 80,500 new cases of lymphoma and 21,210 lymphoma deaths
- 62,130 new cases of leukemia and 24,500 leukemia deaths
- 30,280 new cases of myeloma and 12,590 myeloma deaths.
The report also shows that, from 2004 to 2013, the overall cancer incidence rate was stable in women and declined by about 2% per year in men. From 2005 to 2014, the cancer death rate declined by about 1.5% annually in both men and women.
Overall, the cancer death rate dropped 25% from its peak of 215.1 (per 100,000 population) in 1991 to 161.2 (per 100,000 population) in 2014, the latest year for which data was available. This translates to about 2,143,200 fewer cancer deaths.
“The continuing drops in the cancer death rate are a powerful sign of the potential we have to reduce cancer’s deadly toll,” said Otis W. Brawley, MD, chief medical officer of the ACS.
He said the decrease in cancer death rates is the result of steady reductions in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment. The decrease is driven by decreasing death rates for the 4 major cancer sites—lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate.
The report also shows that racial disparities in cancer death rates continue to decline. The excess risk of cancer death in black men has dropped from 47% in 1990 to 21% in 2014. The black/white disparity declined similarly in women, from a peak of 20% in 1998 to 13% in 2014.
On the other hand, significant gender disparities persist for both cancer incidence and death in the US. For all cancer sites combined, the incidence rate is 20% higher in men than in women, and the cancer death rate is 40% higher in men.
Dr Brawley said the gender gap in cancer mortality largely reflects variation in the distribution of cancers that occur in men and women, much of which is due to differences in the prevalence of cancer risk factors.
The yearly “Cancer Statistics” reports have been published by ACS researchers since 1967 to inform and guide clinicians, investigators, and others in public health in prioritizing efforts to reduce the burden of cancer.
Cancer incidence data for the current report were collected by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program; the National Program of Cancer Registries; and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Mortality data were collected by the National Center for Health Statistics.
