An annual report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that the rate of deaths from cancer in the U.S. has continued to decline.
Overall death rates from all types of cancers declined for men and women by 1.5 percent from 2003 to 2012, according to the Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer (1975-2012). The number of new cancer cases only declined in men. For women, this rate remained stable.
The experts noted that the declining death rates from cancer could be attributed to early detection, preventive measures and improved treatments.
"The latest data show many cancer prevention programs are working and saving lives," CDC Director Thomas Frieden said in the news release. "But the growing burden of liver cancer is troublesome. We need to do more work promoting hepatitis testing, treatment, and vaccination."
The authors provided several key findings in the report for liver cancer in particular. They found that from 2008 to 2012, the number of liver cancer cases increased by an average of 2.3 percent per year with the incidence rates being the highest in non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native men. For all racial groups, the incidence rate of liver cancer was nearly 50 percent higher in men than in women.
The number of deaths tied to liver cancer also increased. For men, the incidence rate went up by 2.8 percent per year from 2008 to 2012, and for women, the rate increased by 3.4 percent per year.
The researchers stressed the importance of treating a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection since roughly 20 percent of the most common types of liver cancer can be tied to HCV. They added that the key to treating HCV is through early detection, especially for people born between 1945 and 1965. The CDC recommends people born during this time frame to get the diagnostic test for HCV.
Other risk factors that can increase risk of liver cancer and mortality from liver cancer include the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, obesity, type 2 diabetes and excessive alcoholic intake.
"We have the knowledge and tools available to slow the epidemic of liver cancer in the U.S., including testing and treatment for HCV, hepatitis B vaccination, and lowering obesity rates," said Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS). "We hope that this report will help focus needed attention and resources on liver cancer."
The CDC worked with the ACD, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries on the report.
