If you’re wondering how many cancer deaths there will be in 2019, you’re not alone. A new report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines new estimates of cancer deaths and new cases in 2019. The report also includes an interactive website dedicated to cancer statistics. These facts are based on the most recent data available from SEER*Explorer, a database for cancer statistics. However, they do not address all aspects of cancer – they only cover deaths from cancer.
The cause of the increasing number of cancer deaths is the aging population and progress against other causes of death. Nearly half of cancer victims are over 70, while the remainder fall into a broad age range. Overall, 80% of cancer deaths occur in people aged over 50, and 41 percent occur in those aged between 50 and 69 years old. Since 1990, the percentage of deaths among people in their 70s has grown by almost eight percentage points.
Cancer death rates differ by race and ethnic group. Men have higher cancer death rates than women, while Asian Americans have the lowest rates. The rate of cancer deaths among African Americans was 14% higher than that of whites, but it decreased from a high of 33% in 1993. Smoking rates among Black teenagers, for example, accounted for much of the decline. But the rate of cancer deaths among men and women has remained relatively stable, despite a decline in the rate among African Americans.
Lung cancer accounts for the highest number of cancer deaths in both sexes. Although it has seen a reduction since 2014, women are still expected to die from lung cancer. The rate of women dying from breast cancer is 13.4 per 100 000, while the rates for men are stable. Other cancers affecting both sexes had stable trends. Pancreatic cancer and uterine cancer both showed slight decreases in both genders. Leukaemias, meanwhile, accounted for 45 000 deaths.
Among the richest nations, cancer survival rates have increased in recent years. In fact, many of them have experienced the greatest progress. Between 1991 and 2016, the US and Germany each had a cancer death rate that dropped by more than twenty percent. In France, Italy, and Germany, the number of cancer deaths was down by a staggering 28%. The decline is slow, but consistent with the two other major trends in cancer mortality.
In 2019, nearly 16.627,948 people will be diagnosed with some type of cancer. Women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 290,560. Despite these statistics, they’re still the most common cancer in the United States. In fact, women will develop breast cancer at a rate of one in every five births. And men’s cancer rates will remain relatively unchanged for the next decade. But, if you’re looking for a more detailed look, SEER*Explorer and State Cancer Profiles are great resources for you to learn about the statistics for the United States.
The US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended the use of screening tests to reduce cancer deaths. Several studies have suggested that cervical cancer screening tests can lead to an early detection of the disease. But what’s more, if it’s diagnosed at an early age, the cancer risk increases by more than six fold. Moreover, HIV infection is also a significant risk factor. In fact, in the US alone, HIV infection increases the risk of cervical cancer by nearly six times and substantially raises the risk of other cancers.
