ACS Reports on Cancer Mortality

US Pharm. 2011;36(7):12.

Atlanta, GA — Current statistics from the American Cancer Society (ACS) reveal that a steady reduction in overall cancer death rates occurred between 1990 and 2007, translating to avoidance of approximately 898,000 cancer-related deaths. Progress has not equally benefited all segments of the population, however. The ACS report Cancer Statistics 2011 and its companion publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2011, stated that cancer death rates for individuals with the least education are more than twice those of individuals with the most education and that closing the gap could have prevented 37% of premature cancer deaths occurring in people aged 25 to 64 years in 2007. Overall, “The nearly 900,000 cancer deaths avoided over a 17-year period stand in stark contrast to the repeated claim that cancer death rates have not budged,” commented John Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the ACS and its advocacy affiliate, the ACS Cancer Action Network.