ABC News carried an article that reported on the downward trend of cancer-related Deaths in the USA. A study was published at the end of March 2017, by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that suggests "the decreased deaths are likely due to better surveillance and treatments." Nevertheless, the battle is not won yet.
Cancer researchers from multiple institutes
Researchers have been studying cancer deaths and the survival rates covering the period from 1975 to 2014. These researchers, who joined in the studies come from diverse institutes including the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.
They used data compiled by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)to arrive at their conclusions.
"Overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in the United States, reflecting improvements in prevention, early detection, and treatment," the authors wrote.
Men seem to have survived more lung and prostate cancer while colorectal cancer deaths have decreased by 2.5 percent per year. More women are surviving breast and lung cancer - the most common form of death from the disease, The deaths from these common cancers have decreased by 1.6 percent and 2.0 percent per year respectively.
Battle with the disease is not yet won
The cancer battle is not yet won, and it was reported that the lifestyle of the 1960's is still contributing to cancer deaths.
These tend to include liver cancers which could be linked to drug use and intravenous injections which caused hepatic problems. The other cancers which are of concern are those that are showing an upward trend. These include brain and pancreas cancers.
Immunotherapy, which is a recent treatment trend is hoped to lower cancer deaths even further, but nevertheless, there are concerns that the good news about decreased cancer types could be offset by the fact that "progress in reducing mortality and improving survival is limited for several cancers."
One of the biggest worries is that while there are better treatments available, they are often very expensive and simply unaffordable. As the researchers explained, it is not enough to "develop effective targeted therapies and find cures, but also heighten our efforts to broadly and equitably apply proven preventive measures."
