The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report shows that between 2004 and 2008, overall cancer incidence rates in the nation have declined by 0.6% per year in men and were stable in women, while cancer death rates decreased by 1.8% per year in men and by 1.6% per year in women.
In Minnesota, the overall cancer mortality rate is similar to what is reported for the nation and has been declining significantly for two decades. The overall cancer mortality rate in Minnesota has decreased by 1.6 % a year from 2000-2007. After adjusting for population growth and aging, the overall cancer mortality rate in Minnesota was 15% lower in 2007 than it was twenty years earlier, with cancer mortality declining 17% in men and 15% among women.
This hard-won progress in Minnesota reflects significant declines in mortality for many of the common cancers, such as prostate, colon, rectum, stomach, brain, oral cavity and female breast. Cancer is still the leading cause of death in Minnesota.
The national report, Cancer Statistics 2012, states that over the past 10 years of available data (1999-2008), cancer death rates have declined in men and women of every racial/ethnic group with the exception of American Indians/Alaska Natives, among whom rates have remained stable. In Minnesota, cancer rates for American Indians are roughly two times higher than reported for the nation as a whole.
The reduction in overall cancer death rates across the nation since 1990 in men and 1991 in women translates to the avoidance of more than a million total deaths from cancer during that time period.
Further progress can be accelerated by applying existing cancer control knowledge across all segments of the population, with an emphasis on those groups in the lowest socioeconomic bracket.
Other highlights of the report include:
A total of 1,638,910 new cancer cases and 577,190 deaths from cancer are projected to occur in the United States in 2012. In Minnesota, new cancer cases were estimated to exceed 25,000 in 2010 with a projected 9,200 lives lost to the disease.
Cancer incidence and death rates vary considerably among racial and ethnic groups. For all cancer sites combined, African American men have a 15% higher incidence rate and a 33% higher death rate than white men, whereas African American women have a 6% lower incidence rate but a 16% higher death rate than white women. In Minnesota, African American men have a 13% higher cancer incidence than non-Hispanic white men and a 42% higher mortality rate.
Compared with whites, African American men and women have poorer survival once cancer is diagnosed. The 5-year relative survival is lower in African Americans than in whites for every stage of diagnosis for nearly every type of cancer. The overall cancer mortality rate among African Americans is very similar in Minnesota.
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; by helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation's largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.
