Still lots of room for improvement on the cancer front:
Tuesday April 21 6:28 PM EDT
Cancer Rates And Mortality Data Released
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The rates of new cases of cancer and deaths from cancer decreased in the US and Canada
between 1990-1994, a report suggests, but researchers say much can still be done to save lives.
To put the figures in perspective, researchers at the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) say
the total number of people in the US who died from cancer during the study period "...was equivalent to about one Titanic
sinking every day (and that) deaths from lung cancer alone in the US during this study period were equivalent to 12 jumbo jet
crashes every week." In Canada each year, "...cancer claimed more lives than the entire populations of the British Columbia
communities of Anmore, Lions Bay and New Westminster combined," the authors explain.
The NAACCR compiled statistics from cancer registries in 40 US states and regions and 12 Canadian provinces and
territories. Their report, "Cancer in North America 1990-1994" was presented Tuesday at the NAACCR annual meeting in
Vancouver.
The data show that 2,604,650 people in the US died from cancer between 1990-1994, with more men (53%) than women
(47%) affected. The most common cancer deaths were due to cancer of the lung (728,641), colon and rectum (285,724),
breast (218,786), and prostate (169,943).
US blacks had higher cancer rates than Caucasians for multiple myeloma and for cancers of the lung, oral cavity, prostate,
esophagus, stomach, and larynx. US Caucasians had higher rates for cancers of the urinary bladder, brain and central nervous
system, testis, and for lymphomas and leukemias. "The incidence rate for all cancers combined was 20% higher among US
black males than US Caucasian males (while) the incidence rate for all cancers combined was 5% higher for US white females
than US black females," the investigators report.
Among US women, the most common cancers were of the breast (31%), lung (12%), colon and rectum (12%), uterus (6%),
and ovary (4%). The five most common for US men were cancers of the prostate (31%), lung (16%), colon and rectum
(11%), urinary bladder (6%), and also non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (4%).
Leukemias, lymphomas, and cancers of the central nervous system accounted for 60% of pediatric cancers in the US, where
rates were 35% higher for Caucasians than blacks and more common among boys than girls.
In Canada, a total of 274,742 people died from cancer during 1990-1994, again with more men (55%) than women (45%)
affected. The most common cancer deaths among all Canadians, and among groups such as Canadian men, women and
children, were the same cancers, in order, as reported in the US.
"The published statistics are not just numbers. They represent our family members and friends," said Dr. Vivien Chen,
editor-in-chief of the reports. "It is the NAACCR's goal that this wealth of data be used to better understand the cancer
problem, to plan and develop appropriate cancer prevention and control programs, to stimulate research and, ultimately, to
reduce cancer risks and deaths in North America." |
