Total Cancer Deaths Down In USA, First Time In 75 Years

For the first time since 1930, the total number of annual cancer deaths has dropped in the USA. In 2003, 556,902 people died of cancer in the USA, the total for 2002 was 557,271, according to figures published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The greatest contributor to the fall, say experts, is the drop in the number of people in the country who smoke. Another contributor is earlier diagnosis, as well as better treatment.

This is the first drop in the number of total deaths. If calculated as deaths per 100,000 people, rates have been falling by about 1% per year for the last ten years. However, as the US population has been rising fast, it is only now that the fall in total deaths have overtaken the rise in the country's population.

The biggest falls in total deaths were seen in:

* Cancer
* Breast Cancer
* Prostate Cancer
* Cancer

These four cancers account for over half of all cancers in the USA