US cancer death rate drops by 30% since 1991

Death rates from cancer in the US have fallen by 32% over the three decades from 1991 to 2019, according to the American Cancer Society.

The decline is thanks to prevention, screening, early diagnosis and treatment of common cancers, including lung and breast cancer.

The drop has meant 3.5m fewer deaths. However, cancers are still the second leading cause of death in the US, after heart disease.

In 1991, the cancer death rate was 215 per 100,000 people and in 2019 it dropped to 146 per 100,000 people.

Lung cancer, of which there are 230,000more cases each year, kills the most patients, 350 per day.

But people are being diagnosed sooner, and technological advancements have increased the survival rate by three years.

The report also examined racial and economic disparities in cancer outcomes.

The Covid-19 pandemic added to already existing difficulties for marginalised groups to get cancer screenings and treatment.

For nearly every type of cancer, white people have a higher survival rate than black people. Black women with breast cancer face a 41% higher death rate than white women.

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Source: BBC News, 12 January 2023