MONDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Better screening, healthier living
and new treatments have all continued to help cut the annual number of
cancer cases and deaths in the United States, a new report says.

The findings showed that new cancer cases and deaths from cancer have
declined significantly for both men and women and for most racial/ethnic
populations.

These decreases were largely due to decreased incidence and death from
lung, prostate and colon cancer among men and a drop in two of the three
leading cancers in women (breast and colon cancers). New diagnoses for all
types of cancer in the United States declined almost 1 percent per year
from 1999 to 2006 and cancer deaths dropped 1.6 percent per year from 2001
to 2006.

The report, which appears in the Dec. 7 online edition of
Cancer, was compiled from data by the American Cancer Society, the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. National Cancer
Institute and the North American Association of Central Cancer
Registries.

"For me, when I see the downturn in some cancers it says we can
actually address the cancer burden through a variety of efforts," said
report author Brenda K. Edwards, associate director of the Surveillance
Research Program at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

But the battle against cancer continues, she stressed. "We see the
downturn in mortality, but we still have almost 1.5 million people with
new cancer diagnoses in 2009. So, we still have a large number of people
affected. For some of them, we have relatively effective treatments and
for others not so."

Edwards noted that for the cancers that have seen the biggest
decreases, such as breast and colon cancer, effective screening methods
probably explain the downward trend, although there are still too few
people who take advantage of them.

Cancer rates are still higher for men than for women, but men had the
biggest declines in new cases and death, the report showed.

This year's report focused on trends in colorectal cancer. Colorectal
cancer, the third most-diagnosed cancer in both men and women, is also the
second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Overall, colon
cancer rates are declining, but the decline is mostly among those over 65.
Increasing numbers of cases in men and women under 50 is worrisome, the
report noted.

Among both men and women, there were major declines in colorectal
cancer cases from 1985 to 1995, minor increases from 1995 to 1998, and
significant declines from 1998 to 2006. Since 1984, death rates also
dropped, with accelerated rates of decline since 2002 for men and since
2001 for women.

In fact, from 1975 to 2000, cases of colorectal cancer fell 22 percent;
50 percent of which was most likely due to changes in lifestyle, and 50
percent to more people being screened.

In addition, deaths from colorectal cancer fell 26 percent during the
same time; 9 percent of the drop came from lifestyle changes, 14 percent
came from screening and 3 percent came from improved treatment, according
to the report.

Going forward, if there were no changes in lifestyle, screening or
treatment, there would be a 17 percent drop in colorectal cancer deaths
from 2000 to 2020. However, if current trends remain the same, there will
be a 36 percent drop in colorectal cancer deaths.

But, if more Americans adopted more healthy lifestyles, such as
quitting smoking, and were screened for colon cancer and had access to
optimal treatment (such as more effective chemotherapy), deaths from colon
cancer could be reduced by 50 percent by 2020, the report predicted.

Other highlights from the report were that among men, cases of
prostate, lung, oral cavity, stomach, brain, colon and rectum cancers have
declined, but cases of kidney/renal, liver and esophageal cancer, along
with leukemia, myeloma and melanoma, are increasing.

Among women, cases of breast, colorectal, uterine, ovarian, cervical
and oral cavity cancers decreased, but cases of lung, thyroid, pancreatic,
bladder and kidney cancers, along with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanoma and
leukemia are on the rise.

Where cancers have increased, Edwards noted that in most cases there
are no effective screening tests to catch the cancer early. In addition,
for many of these cancers, the causes aren't known and there aren't
effective treatments, she said.

Cancer death rates remain highest among blacks and lowest among
Asian/Pacific Islanders. Although death rates by race/ethnicity were
similar for most cancers, deaths from pancreatic cancer, the fourth most
common cause of cancer death in the United States, increased in white men
and women but dropped among black men and women.

Among men, except for Asian/Pacific Islanders, the three leading causes
of cancer death were lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. Among
Asian/Pacific Islanders, lung, liver and colorectal cancers were the top
three causes of cancer death.

For women, except Hispanic women, the three leading causes of cancer
death were lung, breast and colorectal cancer. For Hispanic women, breast
cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths, the study authors noted.

These differences in death rates may be due to differences in risk
behaviors, socioeconomic status and access to and use of screening and
treatment, according to the report.

While these trends are expected to continue, they could be accelerated
if more people would make the lifestyle changes needed to reduce their
risk of cancer. These include not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight,
eating a healthful diet and exercising.

In addition, lives could be saved if more people were screened for
cancers such as breast and colon cancer, and if there was more access to
newer treatments, the report said.

Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale
University School of Medicine, said that "there is enormous detail in this
comprehensive report, but the take-away message is as clear as it is
compelling: the incidence and death toll from cancer are both steadily, if
gradually, declining."

That is not a new message, Katz noted.

"The gratifying conclusion is that we are effectively fighting cancer
at every level: preventing it outright by modifying cancer risk factors;
finding it early through effective screening; and treating it ever more
effectively. The benefits of screening suggested here are timely in light
of recent debate about the net benefits of mammography," he said. "The
overall news here is clearly good, and is something of a rebuke for those
who fear modern science rather than embracing the benefits it so often
confers."

More information

For more information on cancer, visit the
American Cancer Society.