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Cancer Mortality Rates Have Trended Down
(Thursday August 13 2009)
 | Cancer mortality rates have declined for decades now, a trend that we should expect to see continue and accelerate given the technology demonstrations emerging from the laboratories: "Our efforts against cancer, including prevention, early detection and better treatment, have resulted in profound gains, but these gains are often unappreciated by the public due to the way the data are usually reported ... Cancer mortality rates are usually reported as composite age-adjusted rates. These rates have been declining modestly since the 1990's. However, these statistics heavily emphasize the experience of the oldest Americans for whom mortality rates are the highest. As a result, trends emerging in younger Americans can be concealed. As an alternative to age-adjustment, Kort examined cancer mortality rates stratified by age and found that for individuals born since 1925, every age group has experienced a decline in cancer mortality. The youngest age groups have experienced the steepest decline at 25.9 percent per decade, but even the oldest groups have experienced a 6.8 percent per decade decline." |
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