More people are surviving cancer. According to statistics released by the American Cancer Society, cancer mortality has dropped 33% since 1991. That's 3.8 million cancer deaths averted, the organization says.
In 2023, nearly 2 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed and more than 609,820 cancer deaths are projected in the U.S.
The American Cancer Society says new cancer prevention methods and screenings are leading to better outcomes.
The organization touted the success of the HPV vaccine. It noted that there was a 65% reduction in cervical cancer rates in women ages 20-24 from 2012 through 2019.
“The large drop in cervical cancer incidence is extremely exciting because this is the first group of women to receive the HPV vaccine, and it probably foreshadows steep reductions in other HPV-associated cancers,” said Rebecca Siegel, lead author of the study.
The report, however, wasn't all good news. It showed prostate cancer increased by 3% from 2014 through 2019 after 20 years of decline. Additionally, the report details that the increase was driven by those diagnosed with advanced-stage prostate cancer.
"We must address these shifts in prostate cancer, especially in the Black community, since the incidence of prostate cancer in Black men is 70% higher than in White men and prostate cancer mortality rates in Black men are approximately two to four times higher than those in every other racial and ethnic group," said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society