CDC: U.S. cancer rates down slightly from 2009 to 2010

ATLANTA, March 27 (UPI) -- Rates of invasive cancer cases among U.S. men and women dropped from 459 per 100,000 persons in 2009 to 446 per 100,000 persons in 2010.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said invasive cancer is defined as cancer that has spread to surrounding normal tissue from where it began.

“The good news is that we are seeing slightly lower cancer rates in 2010 than in 2009,” Dr. David Espey, acting director, CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, said in a statement.

“However, far too many people are disabled and die from preventable cancers. It’s important to continue to offer the cancer preventive services that we know works to reduce cancer rates and save lives.”

CDC researchers analyzed new cases of invasive cancers diagnosed in 2010 using data from the CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and Results Program. Data from all states, except Arkansas and Minnesota, were included in the analysis that covered 97 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2010, there were 745,383 cases of invasive cancers reported among men and 711,113 cases among women.

Among men, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers were the first, second and third most common cancers in all racial and ethnic groups. Among women, breast cancer was the most common cancer among all racial and ethnic groups, followed by lung, colorectal and uterine cancers. By state, rates for all cancer sites ranged from 380 per 100,000 in Arizona to 511 per 100,000 in Kentucky.

[CDC]