The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a press release on April 21 announcing the results of the 2024 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. Overall death rates from cancer declined steadily from 2001 through 2022, even during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the news brief stated.
The main conclusion of the report was: “Overall cancer mortality declined over 20 years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Disruptions in healthcare use early in the pandemic resulted in incidence declines in 2020, but 2021 incidence returned to pre-pandemic levels.”
“Among men, overall cancer incidence, measured as the rate of new cancer diagnoses, decreased from 2001 through 2013 and then stabilized through 2021. Among women, overall cancer incidence increased slightly every year from 2003 through 2021, with the exception of 2020,” the NIH noted.
Declines in smoking habits contributed to the decreased number of cancer-related deaths. However, the incidence of cancers associated with obesity has been rising.
The report appeared on April 21 in Cancer. It was a collaborative effort among the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the American Cancer Society (ACS); and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR). Data was obtained from population-based cancer registries, funded by the CDC and NCI, and compiled by NAACCR, as well as cancer death data from the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Vital Statistics System.
