Another reported record decline in the US cancer mortality rate [Video]

NEW YORK (AP) – Researchers reported another record year-long decline in cancer mortality in the United States on Tuesday, a drop they attribute to success against lung cancer.

The overall cancer mortality rate has been falling since 1991. From 2017 to 2018, it fell 2.4%, according to a report by the American Cancer Society, surpassing the record drop of 2.2% reported the previous year.

Lung cancer has been responsible for almost half of the overall decline in cancer deaths in the past five years, the society said.

Most lung cancer cases are linked to smoking, and decades of declining smoking rates have led to a drop in lung disease and death rates. But experts say the drop in deaths has been accelerated by refinements in surgery, better diagnostic tests, more accurate use of radiation and the impact of new drugs.

“Both men and women diagnosed with lung cancer are surviving longer and this is really fantastic news,” said Dr. Deborah Schrag, head of population sciences at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in a statement.

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the country, after heart disease. It is estimated that 1.9 million new cases of cancer in the United States will be diagnosed this year. Almost 609,000 Americans will die of cancer, society estimates.

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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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