Cervical cancer is almost 100% preventable through screening and, in recent years, the HPV vaccine, but continues to cause thousands of deaths in the U.S. annually. Approximately 11 women per day died from cervical cancer in 2018, half of whom were in their 50s or younger. It is the second-leading cause of cancer death among women in their 20s and 30s. Although the HPV vaccine holds promise to nearly eliminate cervical cancer with complete population coverage, U.S. vaccination rates remain far below those in other high-income countries: 57% of U.S. adolescent females are up-to-date vs >80% in Australia and >90% in the U.K. Per ACS guidelines HPV vaccinations are recommended in children starting between the ages of 9 to 12, and cervical cancer testing (screening) in young women should begin at age 25.
Other highlights from Cancer Statistics 2021/Cancer Facts & Figures 2021 include:
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Hispanic, Asian American, and Alaska Native persons.
The 5-year survival rate for all cancers combined diagnosed during 2010 through 2016 was 68% in White patients versus 63% in Black patients.
For all stages combined, survival is the highest for prostate cancer (98%), melanoma of the skin (93%), and female breast cancer (90%), and lowest for cancers of the pancreas (10%), liver (20%), esophagus (20%), and lung (21%).
Survival rates are lower for Black patients than for White patients for every cancer type except pancreas.
Prostate, lung and bronchus, and colorectal cancers account for 46% of all incident cases in men, with prostate cancer alone accounting for 26% of diagnoses.
For women, breast, lung, and colorectal cancers account for 50% of all new diagnoses, with breast cancer alone accounting for 30% of female cancers.
In contrast to declining trends for lung and colorectal cancers, female breast cancer incidence rates increased by about 0.5% per year from 2008 to 2017, which is attributed at least in part to continued declines in the fertility rate and increased body weight.
Colorectal cancer overtook leukemia in 2018 as the second leading cause of cancer death in men aged 20 to 39 years, reflecting increasing trends in colorectal cancer in this age group, coinciding with declining rates for leukemia.
The Black-White disparity in overall cancer mortality among men and women combined has declined from a peak of 33% in 1993 (279 vs 211 per 100,000, respectively) to 13% in 2018 (174 vs 154).
Geographic disparities are widest for the most preventable cancers, such as lung and cervical cancers, for which incidence and mortality rates vary up to 5- and 3-fold, respectively, across states.
"While recent advances in treatment for lung cancer and several other cancers are reason to celebrate, it is concerning to see the persistent racial, socioeconomic, and geographic disparities for highly preventable cancers," said William G. Cance, M.D., chief medical and scientific officer, American Cancer Society. "There is a continued need for increased investment in equitable cancer control interventions and clinical research to create more advanced treatment options to help accelerate progress in the fight against cancer."
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