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Annual Report to the Nation: Declines in lung cancer, melanoma death rates drive overall cancer mortality drop

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From 2015 to 2018, the overall cancer death rate in the United States fell by 2.3% per year for men and 2.1% per year for women—an unprecedented drop, led by accelerated decline in deaths from lung cancer and melanoma.

By way of comparatison, the death rate for men dropped 1.8% per year from 2001-2015, and the death rate in women declined 1.4% per year from 2001-2015, according to this year’s Annual Report to the Nation, a study conducted by several federal agencies and cancer groups.

The report, published in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, also finds that overall cancer incidence rates continue to increase among females, children, adolescents and young adults. All trends in this report cover the period before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Alexandria Carolan
Alexandria Carolan
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