New national report shows cancer rates continue to decline

A new report from leading health and cancer organizations shows national cancer rates continue to decline. Rates of new cases and deaths from all cancers decreased significantly from 1999 to 2006 for men and women and for most racial and ethnic populations in the United States.

The report is published online in the journal Cancer. The findings show new diagnoses for all types of cancer were down almost one percent and cancer deaths decreased 1.6 percent per year from 2001 to 2006.

The cancers reporting the largest declines for men are lung, prostate, and colorectal. In women, the drops are in breast and colorectal cancer.

The report is by researchers from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.

Dana-Farber president Edward J. Benz Jr, MD, comments on the latest report from the NCI that notes significant declines in cancer rates. (Runtime: 00:29)