U.S. cancer rate down 1 percent a year

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Both incidence and death rates from all cancers combined significantly declined for men and women overall, U.S. cancer researchers said.

In their annual report, the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries said the decreases were driven largely by declines in both incidence and death rates for the most common cancers.

The three most common cancers in men -- lung, prostate and colorectal cancers -- and for two of the three leading cancers in women -- breast and colorectal cancer, helped bring down the number of new diagnoses for all types of cancer combined by almost 1 percent per year from 1999-2006 and helped to decrease cancer deaths 1.6 percent per year.

However, the incidence of some cancers are increasing -- for instance, in men and women under age 50, the report said.

Information regarding invasive cancers was obtained from the NCI, CDC, and NAACCR, and information on deaths was obtained from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. Annual percentage changes in the age-standardized incidence and death rates for all cancers combined and for the top 15 cancers were estimated by analysis of long-term trends -- 1975-2006 -- and for short-term fixed-interval trends -- 1997-2006.

The report is published in the journal Cancer.