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SearchAn oncologist offers some insight into the annual cancer trends report released by the American Cancer Society.
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CLEVELAND - It appears mortality rates for cancer are continuing to decline.
According to the American Cancer Society’s annual report, there was a 34% decrease in deaths between 1991 and 2022.
And while that’s good news, another concerning trend has emerged: more women and younger adults are being diagnosed with cancer.
“Overall, younger patients in general, men and women, are having more and more cancers, and the reality is we don't necessarily know the reason for that. That's an area of active study,” said Dale Shepard, MD, oncologist for Cleveland Clinic. “One reason that maybe more women are having increased cancers compared to men is that we haven't seen the same benefits in women is really a preventable cause, and that's continued smoking.”
Dr. Shepard was not a part of the research for this report. However, he said lung cancer cases are actually now higher in women than in men among people younger than 65.
Colorectal cancer cases for adults younger than 65 and cervical cancer cases for women between 30 and 44 have also gone up.
In addition, the report found that pancreatic cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.
Dr. Shapard said unlike lung cancer, for example, there is no early screening available for pancreatic cancer and treatment options are limited.
So, what can be done to help change these trends?
“Even though we've made progress, we can make even more progress if people do lifestyle modifications that can decrease their risk for cancer,” said Dr. Shepard. “That would be stopping smoking, minimizing alcohol exposure, getting screenings when appropriate, follow up with your doctor if there's symptoms for earlier detection, and minimizing obesity.”
The American Cancer Society report also noted some racial disparities.
Native American people are two to three times higher than white people to die from kidney, liver, stomach and cervical cancers.
And Black people are twice as likely to die from prostate, stomach and uterine corpus cancer compared to White people.
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