The Fifty-Year Decline of Cancer in America

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Rodu ◽  
Philip Cole

PURPOSE: From 1950 to 1990, the overall cancer mortality rate increased steadily in the United States, a trend which ran counter to declining mortality from other major diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of lung cancer on all-cancer mortality over the past 50 years. METHODS: Data from the National Centers for Health Statistics were used to develop mortality rates for all forms of cancer combined, lung cancer, and other-cancer (all-cancer minus lung cancer) from 1950 to 1998. RESULTS: When lung cancer is excluded, mortality from all other forms of cancer combined declined continuously from 1950 to 1998, dropping 25% during this period. The decline in other-cancer mortality was approximately 0.4% annually from 1950 to 1990 but accelerated to 0.9% per year from 1990 to 1996 and to 2.2% per year from 1996 to 1998. CONCLUSION: The long-term decline is likely due primarily to improvements in medical care, including screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (15) ◽  
pp. 2625-2634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm A. Smith ◽  
Nita L. Seibel ◽  
Sean F. Altekruse ◽  
Lynn A.G. Ries ◽  
Danielle L. Melbert ◽  
...  

Purpose This report provides an overview of current childhood cancer statistics to facilitate analysis of the impact of past research discoveries on outcome and provide essential information for prioritizing future research directions. Methods Incidence and survival data for childhood cancers came from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 (SEER 9) registries, and mortality data were based on deaths in the United States that were reported by states to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by underlying cause. Results Childhood cancer incidence rates increased significantly from 1975 through 2006, with increasing rates for acute lymphoblastic leukemia being most notable. Childhood cancer mortality rates declined by more than 50% between 1975 and 2006. For leukemias and lymphomas, significantly decreasing mortality rates were observed throughout the 32-year period, though the rate of decline slowed somewhat after 1998. For remaining childhood cancers, significantly decreasing mortality rates were observed from 1975 to 1996, with stable rates from 1996 through 2006. Increased survival rates were observed for all categories of childhood cancers studied, with the extent and temporal pace of the increases varying by diagnosis. Conclusion When 1975 age-specific death rates for children are used as a baseline, approximately 38,000 childhood malignant cancer deaths were averted in the United States from 1975 through 2006 as a result of more effective treatments identified and applied during this period. Continued success in reducing childhood cancer mortality will require new treatment paradigms building on an increased understanding of the molecular processes that promote growth and survival of specific childhood cancers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (12) ◽  
pp. 1354-1362
Author(s):  
Rahman Barry ◽  
Milad Modarresi ◽  
Rodrigo Aguilar ◽  
Jacqueline Sanabria ◽  
Thao Wolbert ◽  
...  

Traumatic injuries account for 10% of all mortalities in the United States. Globally, it is estimated that by the year 2030, 2.2 billion people will be overweight (BMI ≥ 25) and 1.1 billion people will be obese (BMI ≥ 30). Obesity is a known risk factor for suboptimal outcomes in trauma; however, the extent of this impact after blunt trauma remains to be determined. The incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates from blunt trauma by age, gender, cause, BMI, year, and geography were abstracted using datasets from 1) the Global Burden of Disease group 2) the United States Nationwide Inpatient Sample databank 3) two regional Level II trauma centers. Statistical analyses, correlations, and comparisons were made on a global, national, and state level using these databases to determine the impact of BMI on blunt trauma. The incidence of blunt trauma secondary to falls increased at global, national, and state levels during our study period from 1990 to 2015, with a corresponding increase in BMI at all levels ( P < 0.05). Mortality due to fall injuries was higher in obese patients at all levels ( P < 0.05). Analysis from Nationwide Inpatient Sample database demonstrated higher mortality rates for obese patients nationally, both after motor vehicle collisions and mechanical falls ( P < 0.05). In obese and nonobese patients, regional data demonstrated a higher blunt trauma mortality rate of 2.4% versus 1.2%, respectively ( P < 0.05) and a longer hospital length of stay of 4.13 versus 3.26 days, respectively ( P = 0.018). The obesity rate and incidence of blunt trauma secondary to falls are increasing, with a higher mortality rate and longer length of stay in obese blunt trauma patients.


1972 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maris A. Vinovskis

The study of mortality rates and trends in the United States before 1860 has been rather unsystematic to date. Most scholars have been content to estimate the mortality rate at some point in time and only a few serious efforts have been made to ascertain the long-term trends in mortality. Particularly lacking are efforts to relate estimates of mortality in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to those of the nineteenth century. In addition, the few studies that have attempted to discuss long-term trends in American mortality have been forced to rely on estimates of mortality gathered from different sources and based on different techniques of analysis. Unfortunately, almost no efforts have been made to estimate possible biases introduced when comparing mortality data from different types of records.


Lung Cancer ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Mannino ◽  
Earl Ford ◽  
Gary A. Giovino ◽  
Michael Thun

Dose-Response ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 155932581876948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray M. Merrill ◽  
Aaron Frutos

Background: Research has shown that higher altitude is associated with lower risk of lung cancer and improved survival among patients. The current study assessed the influence of county-level atmospheric pressure (a measure reflecting both altitude and temperature) on age-adjusted lung cancer mortality rates in the contiguous United States, with 2 forms of spatial regression. Methods: Ordinary least squares regression and geographically weighted regression models were used to evaluate the impact of climate and other selected variables on lung cancer mortality, based on 2974 counties. Results: Atmospheric pressure was significantly positively associated with lung cancer mortality, after controlling for sunlight, precipitation, PM2.5 (µg/m3), current smoker, and other selected variables. Positive county-level β coefficient estimates ( P < .05) for atmospheric pressure were observed throughout the United States, higher in the eastern half of the country. Conclusion: The spatial regression models showed that atmospheric pressure is positively associated with age-adjusted lung cancer mortality rates, after controlling for other selected variables.


2021 ◽  
pp. 00311-2021
Author(s):  
Chinmay Jani ◽  
Dominic C Marshall ◽  
Harpreet Singh ◽  
Richard Goodall ◽  
Joseph Shalhoub ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe lung is the most common site for cancer and has the highest worldwide cancer-related mortality. Our study reports and compares trends in lung cancer mortality in the United States (US) and 26 European countries.Study design and methodsLung cancer mortality data were extracted for males and females for each of the years 2000–2017 from the World Health Organization (WHO) Mortality and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER databases. Lung cancer mortality trends were compared using Joinpoint regression analysis, and male-to-female mortality ratios were calculated.ResultsDown-trending lung cancer mortality rates were observed in males in all countries except Cyprus and Portugal between 2000 and 2017. In females, increasing mortality rates were observed in 22 of the 27 countries analyzed. Latvia had the highest estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) in male mortality (−9.6%) between 2013–2015. In the US, EAPCs were −5.1% for males and −4.2% for females between 2014–2017. All countries had an overall decrease in the ratio of male-to-female lung cancer mortality. The most recent observation of median male-to-female mortality was 2.26 (IQR 1.92–4.05). The countries with the greatest current sex disparity in lung cancer mortality were Lithuania (5.51) and Latvia (5.00).ConclusionBetween 2000 and 2017, lung cancer mortality rates were decreasing for males in Europe and the US, whereas increasing lung cancer mortality rates were generally observed in females. There is a persistent but decreasing sex-mortality gap, with men having persistently greater lung cancer mortality but with rates decreasing faster than women.


1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. LEE

This study represents part of a long-term research program to investigate the influence of U.K. accountants on the development of professional accountancy in other parts of the world. It examines the impact of a small group of Scottish chartered accountants who emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Set against a general theory of emigration, the study's main results reveal the significant involvement of this group in the founding and development of U.S. accountancy. The influence is predominantly with respect to public accountancy and its main institutional organizations. Several of the individuals achieved considerable eminence in U.S. public accountancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua J. Levy ◽  
Rebecca M. Lebeaux ◽  
Anne G. Hoen ◽  
Brock C. Christensen ◽  
Louis J. Vaickus ◽  
...  

What is the relationship between mortality and satellite images as elucidated through the use of Convolutional Neural Networks?Background: Following a century of increase, life expectancy in the United States has stagnated and begun to decline in recent decades. Using satellite images and street view images, prior work has demonstrated associations of the built environment with income, education, access to care, and health factors such as obesity. However, assessment of learned image feature relationships with variation in crude mortality rate across the United States has been lacking.Objective: We sought to investigate if county-level mortality rates in the U.S. could be predicted from satellite images.Methods: Satellite images of neighborhoods surrounding schools were extracted with the Google Static Maps application programming interface for 430 counties representing ~68.9% of the US population. A convolutional neural network was trained using crude mortality rates for each county in 2015 to predict mortality. Learned image features were interpreted using Shapley Additive Feature Explanations, clustered, and compared to mortality and its associated covariate predictors.Results: Predicted mortality from satellite images in a held-out test set of counties was strongly correlated to the true crude mortality rate (Pearson r = 0.72). Direct prediction of mortality using a deep learning model across a cross-section of 430 U.S. counties identified key features in the environment (e.g., sidewalks, driveways, and hiking trails) associated with lower mortality. Learned image features were clustered, and we identified 10 clusters that were associated with education, income, geographical region, race, and age.Conclusions: The application of deep learning techniques to remotely-sensed features of the built environment can serve as a useful predictor of mortality in the United States. Although we identified features that were largely associated with demographic information, future modeling approaches that directly identify image features associated with health-related outcomes have the potential to inform targeted public health interventions.


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