Cancer Now America`s Top Killer

25/01/2005 The mortality rate from heart disease is now dropping quickly enough for cancer to overtake it as America’s number one killer of Americans under age 85, reports the American Cancer Society. Cancer now accounts for approximately 23 percent of all deaths in the USA and the society estimates 1,372,910 new cancer cases in the United States in 2005 and 570,280 cancer deaths, or about 1,500 per day.

Lung cancer remains the top cancer killer in both men and women and accounts for nearly one-third of cancer deaths in men and one-quarter of cancer deaths in women. Lung cancer mortality rates in women have levelled off for the first time in several decades. Though rates for these cancers decrease,

Among men, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers accoun/01t for more than half of all newly diagnosed cancers (56 percent). Prostate cancer alone accounts for one in three cases (33 percent). Breast, lung, and colorectal cancers will account for more than 50 percent of new cancers among women.. Breast cancer is expected to account for 32 percent of new cancer cases.

Death rates for all cancer sites decreased about one percent between 1993 and 2001.

Lung cancer remains the top cancer killer in both sexes, responsible for nearly one in three cancer deaths in men (31 percent) and about one in four deaths among women (27 percent).

The four most common cancers among men and women in the United States (lung, colon, breast, and prostate) together account for half of all cancer deaths. Mortality rates for these cancer sites continue to decrease, with the exception of female lung cancer, which has leveled off for the first time after several decades of increase.

Incidence rates are mixed. Lung cancer continues to decrease in men and has leveled off in women for the first time after decades of increase.

Colorectal cancer incidence rates have dropped but prostate and female breast cancer rates have continued to increase, although at a slower rate than in years past. The increase may be due to screening using PSA testing (prostate cancer) and mammography (breast cancer). The increase in female breast cancer may also reflect increased use of hormone replacement therapy and/or increased prevalence of obesity.

The cancer death rate has declined mainly because fewer people are smoking and also because of better screening methods and treatments, the report says.

The single biggest reason for the cancer death rate`s decline is that fewer people are smoking, the report said. Smoking rates plummeted between 1965 to 2002, from 42 per cent to 22 per cent of the adult population.

Better screening methods and treatments have also helped keep more people alive, the report says.