According to a new report released Monday by U.S. cancer groups, cancer death rates fell by 2.1 percent each year from 2002 through 2004, almost double the 1.1 percent annual decline recorded between 1993 and 2003.
Dr. David Espey, a cancer epidemiologist from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said, "That's a very encouraging finding. It's the key indicator of progress in cancer.
Espey is lead author of the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2004, Featuring Cancer in American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The report, which appears in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Cancer, collected data from state and regional population-based cancer registries, while data on cancer deaths came from the CDC's National Vital Statistics System.
The report indicated a decline in death rates for lung, prostate and colorectal cancers in men, while women saw declines in colorectal and breast cancer. In addition, the increase in death rates from lung cancer among women slowed considerably.
Overall, incidence rates for all cancers decreased slightly from 1992 through 2004, after increasing between 1975 and 1992, the report said.
"The findings point to a need for intervention. These populations have low screening rates. Regionally, there are very specific needs that should drive policy," Espey concluded.
