Overall cancer mortality rates for men and women of all ethnic groups in the United States continue to decline, according to the latest American Cancer Status Annual Report. Between 2001 and 2018, the decline in lung cancer mortality rate accelerated, and the mortality rate of me

According to the latest "American Cancer Status Annual Report", the overall cancer mortality rate for men and women of all ethnic groups in the United States continues to decline. Between 2001 and 2018, the decline in lung cancer mortality rate accelerated, and the mortality rate of melanoma has dropped significantly in recent years, reflecting a significant increase in survival rates of metastatic melanoma. However, several other major cancers, including prostate cancer , colorectal cancer and female breast cancer , have previously slowed downward mortality trends. The report published in the JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute also found that overall cancer incidence in women, children, adolescents and young people continues to rise. All trends in this report cover the period before the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual report is the result of a collaboration between the American Cancer Association (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Association of Central Cancer Registration Offices of North America (NAACCR). The

report shows that in recent period (2014-2018), 11 of the 19 most common male cancers and 14 of the 20 most common female cancers have all declined. During this period, the decline in mortality rates of lung cancer and melanoma accelerated, but the decline in mortality rates of colorectal cancer and female breast cancer has slowed down before, and the mortality rate of prostate cancer has also stabilized. Mortality rates in a few cancers have increased, such as brain and other neurological cancers and pancreatic cancers and , oral and pharyngeal cancers in men, and liver and uterine cancers in women. The

report states that the decline in lung cancer and melanoma mortality is the result of the development of cancer prevention and treatment, from reducing smoking rates to preventing cancer to the discovery of targeted drug therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Analysis of long-term trends in cancer mortality in this year's report also shows that the decline in mortality rates among both men and women is accelerating from 2001 to 2018. Among men, it fell 1.8% annually from 2001 to 2015, and accelerated to a decline of 2.3% annually from 2015 to 2018. Among women, the decline was 1.4% per year from 2001 to 2015, and accelerated to a decline of 2.1% per year from 2015 to 2018. The report found that overall cancer mortality rates for each racial and ethnic group decreased between 2014 and 2018.

The continued decline in cancer mortality should make the cancer research community happy because it exceeds the evidence that decades of scientific advances are making real changes at the population level. The researchers said that cancer mortality could be further improved if obesity is addressed, as obesity has the potential tobacco use, becoming the main variable factor associated with cancer.