The cancer mortality rate in the United States fell 2.4% between 2017 and 2018, the largest decline in a year and a sign of the impact of new treatments on lung cancer, the Society said American Cancer.
It was the second year in a row with a record drop, and progress continues with gains made more than a quarter of a century ago, the cancer society said in a report released Tuesday.
Overall, the cancer mortality rate has dropped 31% since its peak in 1991, according to the report, published online in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
“Seeing these steady declines in cancer mortality is very encouraging,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of her new report.
Despite the gains made, cancer remains one of the biggest killers in the country: the second leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease. In 2018, it was responsible for more than 599,000 deaths, according to the report.