Cancer Statistics, 2019

Each year, the American Cancer Society estimates the numbers of new cancer cases and deaths that will occur in the United States and compiles the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival. Incidence data, available through  2015,  were  collected  by  the  Surveillance,  Epidemiology,  and  End  Results  Program;  the  National Program  of  Cancer  Registries;  and  the  North  American  Association  of  Central  Cancer  Registries.  Mortality  data,  available  through  2016,  were collected by the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2019, 1,762,450 new cancer  cases  and  606,880  cancer  deaths  are  projected  to  occur  in  the  United  States. Over the past decade of data, the cancer incidence rate (2006-2015) was stable in women and declined by approximately 2% per year in men, whereas the cancer death rate (2007-2016) declined annually by 1.4% and 1.8%, respectively. The overall cancer death rate dropped continuously from 1991 to 2016 by a total of 27%, translating into approximately 2,629,200 fewer cancer deaths than would have been expected if death rates had remained at their peak. Although the racial gap in cancer mortality is slowly narrowing, socioeconomic inequalities are widening, with the most notable gaps for the most preventable cancers. For example, compared with the  most  affluent  counties,  mortality  rates  in  the poorest  counties  were  2-fold  higher  for  cervical  cancer  and  40%  higher  for  male  lung  and  liver  cancers  during  2012-2016. Some states are home to both the wealthiest and the poorest counties, suggesting  the  opportunity  for  more  equitable  dissemination  of  effective  cancer  prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies. A broader application of existing cancer control knowledge with an emphasis on disadvantaged groups would undoubtedly  accelerate  progress  against  cancer. ​

The full article can be downloaded below.