The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
November 25, 2008
For the first time in a decade of reporting trends in cancer incidence and deaths, the National Cancer Institute says there is an overall decline in both.
Incidence of all cancers dropped almost 1 percent a year from 1999 through 2005 and death rates dropped 1.8 percent each year from 2002 to 2005.
Some key drivers of the decrease include:
-- Fewer lung cancer cases and deaths in men, a trend that has continued since the early 1990s. In women, lung cancer incidence is climbing and death rates are stable.
-- A 2.2 percent drop in breast cancer incidence per year from 1999 through 2005. Experts believe that recent drops might be related to many women discontinuing the use of hormone replacement therapy.
-- Incidence of colon cancer in women dropped 1.7 percent a year from 1996 to 2005. Incidence increased in men, but death rates for both genders dropped during the decade.
While the report has some overarching good news, experts emphasize that racial and geographic disparities persist.
In particular, gains made in lung cancer incidence and deaths are profound in some areas of the country, particularly California, which has been a frontrunner in tobacco-control policy. Southern states, in which tobacco is a money maker, have not seen the same kind of improvement.
Lung cancer deaths in Ohio dropped 1.4 percent a year from 1996 through 2005, compared to a 2 percent decrease seen nationwide. Incidence data for Ohio are not included in the report. California had a 2.8 percent drop.
Overall, decreases have been driven by better technology, earlier detection and the promotion of lifestyle changes, said Dr. Michael Caligiuri, chief executive officer of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital.
Further success in lowering incidence and deaths will depend financial and political commitments aimed at lowering the cancer burden, he said.
The report was heartening news to Dr. John Matyas, associate director of gastrointestinal cancer services at Riverside Methodist Hospital.
When he began his career three decades ago, colonoscopies were rarely performed and were often ill-executed, he said.
Now, technology, technique and sedation have improved and many people don't hesitate to have a colonoscopy, he said.
Colonoscopies allow a doctor to find and remove polyps before they can become cancerous.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
