The overall incidence of new cancer cases and death due to cancer dropped for the first time in the United States, according to an annual report released by the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and other scientific groups. This is the first time the report reveals a decline in overall cancer death rates. The decline is mainly due to declines in the three most common cancers among men (lung, colorectal, and prostate) and the two most common cancers among women (breast and colorectal), combined with a levelling off of lung cancer death rates among women. Those cancers alone account for about half of both new cases and deaths.

“The drop in incidence seen in this year's Annual Report is something we've been waiting to see for a long time,” said Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS). “However, we have to be somewhat cautious about how we interpret it, because changes in incidence can be caused not only by reductions in risk factors for cancer, but also by changes in screening practices." The continuing drop in mortality proves once again the fact that real progress was made against cancer, reflecting real gains in prevention, early detection, and treatment.

Incidence rates for all cancers for men and women combined dropped by 0.8% per year from 1999 through 2005, with the rates for men dropping at about three times the rate for women.

Breast cancer incidence declined by 2.2 percent annually from 1999 to 2005. The drop was mainly attributable to large numbers of women quitting hormone replacement therapy. Previous studies have linked hormone replacement therapy to breast cancer.

The incidence rates of prostate cancer decreased by 4.4 percent a year from 2001 to 2005. At the same time, prostate cancer screening rates have levelled off in recent years.

“We are making progress in the fight against cancer,” said report co-author Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, director of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Occurrence Office.

Researchers worry that the economic meltdown may trigger a new increase in cancer rates because of the high price paid for screening tests.

Rates of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma increased in both men and women. In men, incidence climbed for cancers of the liver, kidney, and esophagus and for melanoma and myeloma. In women, rates of cancers of the thyroid, pancreas, brain/ nervous system bladder, and kidney, as well as leukaemia and melanoma rose.

The report, titled the 'Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2005, Featuring Trends in Lung Cancer, Tobacco Use and Tobacco Control,' is issued annually by the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. This year’s report includes a state-by-state information on lung cancer incidence and mortality, as well as trends of tobacco use and control. The annual report is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.