Cancer report reveals surprising new data on deaths, diagnoses

The annual cancer statistics report from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) — which was published in the journal Cancer on Monday, April 21 — shows some signs of progress in America’s fight against the disease.Overall, rates of new cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths have declined.Between 2018 and 2022, cancer death rates have decreased by 1.7% each year for men and 1.3% for women, the report stated.“Cancer death rates are falling among both men and women because of many factors — including better screening, early intervention, more advanced surgical approaches and better targeted therapies,” Dr.Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.Smoking-related cancers in particular (lung, bladder and larynx) saw significant declines in new cases and deaths, the researchers noted, likely driven by reduced tobacco use and changes in screening recommendations.For adult males, mortality rates declined for 12 of the most common cancer types between 2018 and 2022, including prostate, liver and intrahepatic bile duct, esophagus, melanoma of the skin, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, colon and rectum, leukemia, myeloma, stomach, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and lung and bronchus.Lung and bronchus cancer saw the biggest decline in deaths, falling by 4.5% each year in that four-year timeframe, according to the report.“This is largely due to early and more effective screening, robotic lung surgery (which can get the cancer before it escapes the lung), and more effective targeted and immunotherapies when it does escape the lung,” Siegel said.Men’s death rates increased for cancers of pancreas, bones and joints, oral cavity and pharynx, and non-melanoma skin cancer during this period.Among women, 14 common cancers had reduced death rates, including brain and other nervous system, cervix, soft tissue including heart, urinary bladder, kidney and renal pelvis, breast, stomach, leukemia, colon and rectum, myeloma, gallbladder, n...