Cancer rates decline: American Cancer Society's 2010 report.

The American Cancer Society headlined its Cancer Statistics 2010 report with the news that cancer deaths continue to decline. In fact, reductions over the past 20 years have prevented some 767,000 deaths.

In the US this year epidemiologists estimate that there'll be 1,529,560 new cancer cases (men: 789,620; women: 739,940) and 569,490 cancer deaths (men: 299,200; women: 270,290).

Other figures from the report include:

-The most deadly cancers, responsible for half of all cancer death, are: lung, prostate, and colorectum cancers in men and lung, breast, and colorectum in women.

-In women, breast cancer will account for 28 percent (207,090) of all new cancer cases. In men, prostate cancer will account for 28 percent (217,730 cases) of all new cancer cases; overall 1 in 6 US men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer sometime in their life, and 1 in 36 will die from the malignancy.

-Whites and blacks lead other ethnic and racial groups in cancer incidence and death, with blacks faring worst of all: Black men are 14% more likely to get cancer, and 34% more likely to die from it than their white counterparts; black women are 7% more likely to get cancer and 17% more likely to die from it than their white counterparts.

-Leukemia is the most deadly cancer among men 40 and younger, and among women 20 and younger. In women aged 20 to 59 breast cancer takes over as the leading killer.

-News that declining smoking rates may be having an impact: Over the past 19 years lung cancer rates in men have been declining almost 2% per year, and rates in women have leveled off after increasing.

-Some surprising findings: Cancer is second only to accidents as the leading cause of death among US children aged 1 to 14.

Like any health data, cancer figures can be misleading. Declines in death rates, for example, may simply reflect increased detection without any commensurate improvement in treatment. Looking harder for cancer will uncover more of it. Since not all cancers are detected, and not all of it kills, you can lower your death rate simply by increasing diagnoses without changing death (or treatment) rates, and without actually saving anyone's life. Death rates, after all, are the number of deaths from a specific cancer divided by the total number of cases of that cancer (increase the denominator, and you reduce the rate.)

The 2010 figures, however, are good news.  We are increasing the number of cancers we detect, and the fact that we are seeing declines in overall deaths-- which is the ultimate goal of cancer prevention, screening, detection and treatment-- means progress is being made.