Title: Cancer Death Rate in U.S. Sees Sharpest One-Year Drop - The New York Times
Headings: Cancer Death Rate in U.S. Sees Sharpest One-Year Drop
Cancer Death Rate in U.S. Sees Sharpest One-Year Drop
Content: “What we’re seeing with obesity is really sort of parallel to what we saw with cigarette smoking,” said Timothy Rebbeck, an epidemiologist at Harvard and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Studies have found that obesity, unhealthy diets and a lack of physical activity are associated with metabolic and hormone abnormalities and with chronic inflammation, which may help explain the link to cancer. Controlling these factors could help jump-start declines in cancer incidence and mortality rates once again, Dr. Rebbeck said. But not all populations benefit from prevention and advances in cancer treatment. Although racial disparities in cancer care are narrowing, the American Cancer Society report found that black men were still twice as likely to die of cancer as Asian/Pacific Islander men and 20 percent more likely to die than white men. Men and women living in certain states are also more likely to develop and succumb to potentially preventable cancers, such as lung cancer, cervical cancer and melanoma. The reason lies in historical differences in smoking prevalence, obesity, other cancer risk factors and the ability to access and afford quality cancer care, Ms. Siegel said. The incidence of cervical cancer is much higher in Arkansas than in Vermont or New Hampshire. As some states adopt vaccinations against human papillomavirus more widely than others, the difference in rates of HPV-linked cervical cancers could become more pronounced. “Ensuring equal access to known cancer prevention and early detection methods would go far to accelerate the progress against overall cancer,” Ms. Siegel said.