Of the 10 leading causes of death, only cancer declined from 2014 to 2015. ACS 2018 Cancer Statistic
American Cancer Society released its 2018 Cancer Statistics Report on Thursday.
"Over the past decade of data, the cancer incidence rate (2005-2014) was stable in women and declined by approximately 2% annually in men, while the cancer death rate (2006-2015) declined by about 1.5% annually in both men and women. The combined cancer death rate dropped continuously from 1991 to 2015 by a total of 26%, translating to approximately 2,378,600 fewer cancer deaths than would have been expected if death rates had remained at their peak. Of the 10 leading causes of death, only cancer declined from 2014 to 2015. "
Disparity of Cancer
"In 2015, the cancer death rate was 14% higher in non-Hispanic blacks (NHBs) than non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) overall (death rate ratio [DRR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.13-1.15), but the racial disparity was much larger for individuals aged <65 years (DRR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.29-1.32) compared with those aged ≥65 years (DRR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.06-1.09) and varied substantially by state."
The continuous decline in cancer death rates over 2 decades has resulted in an overall drop of 26%, resulting in approximately 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths during this time period. While the racial gap in cancer mortality continues to narrow, this progress primarily reflects older age groups, masking stark persistent inequalities for young and middle-aged black Americans.