Cancer incidence and mortality have continued the decline that started in the early 1990s, according to an annual report from four major health organizations.
Overall, cancer incidence declined by 0.5% per year from 1999 to 2008, with most of the decline occurring from 1999 to 2005, according to the "Annual Report to the Nation," published online in Cancer.
For men, the rate decreased by 0.6% during 1994 to 2008 and remained at that level in analyses of 1999 to 2008 and 2004 to 2008.
Among women, cancer incidence decreased by 0.5% per year from 1998 to 2006 but increased from 2006 to 2008. For 1998 to 2008, cancer incidence decreased by 0.2% annually in women.
Cancer mortality declined from 1999 to 2008 overall and among men, women, children, and all racial and ethnic groups, the report said. From 2004 through 2008, cancer mortality decreased by 1.3% annually.
However, not all the news was good. Authors of the report took the American public to task for the carcinogenic effects of obesity and lack of physical activity, which "contribute to the increased incidence of many cancers, adversely affect quality of life for cancer survivors, and may worsen prognosis for several cancers."
"In the U.S., two in three adults are overweight or obese, and fewer than half get enough physical activity," John R. Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS), said in a statement. "Between children and youth, one in three is overweight or obese, and fewer than one in four high school students get recommended levels of physical activity.
"Obesity and physical inactivity are critical problems facing all states. For people who do not smoke, excess weight and lack of sufficient physical activity may be among the most important risk factors for cancer."
Moreover, cancer incidence and mortality in children and adolescents continued to increase from 2004 through 2008, a trend that has been ongoing since 1992.
First published in 1998, the report is a collaborative effort of ACS, the CDC, the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.
As in the past, the authors of the report summarized trends in cancer incidence and mortality, going back as far as 1975. Unlike previous reports, the 2012 edition devoted an entire section to statistics and science of associations between excess weight, lack of physical activity, and cancer.
The report summarized trends for the 18 most common cancers, including a breakdown by sex and racial/ethnic groups. Selected findings by site included:
- Lung and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality declined in men and women.
- Breast cancer incidence declined from 1999 to 2008 but rose by 0.2% annually during 2004 to 2008.
- Breast cancer mortality declined from 1999 to 2008 and from 2004 to 2008.
- Prostate cancer incidence and mortality decreased from 1999 to 2008 and from 2004 to 2008.
Rates of melanoma and of pancreatic, kidney, thyroid, and liver cancer increased from 1999 through 2008.
The incidence of childhood cancer (occurring in children ≤19) increased by 0.6% per year during the most recent 5-year period, but mortality declined by 1.3% annually.
Black men and white women had the highest cancer incidence, and cancer mortality was highest among black men and women during 2004 to 2008, although the same two groups had the largest declines in mortality from 1999 to 2008.
The report identified six cancers as having associations with obesity and/or lack of physical activity: esophageal, colorectal, kidney, pancreatic, endometrial, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Results were mixed, as the incidence increased in some cases and decreased in others.
The report is available online.
The authors had no relevant disclosures.
- Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, Nurse Planner