The projected increase in new cancer cases is due to an enlarging and aging population, says Ted Gansler, MD, Medical Content Director for the ACS. Scientists consider age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates, which take into account changes in the population and the average age of Americans, to more accurately reflect how likely the average person is to be diagnosed with or die of cancer.

These age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates have actually been falling since the early 1990s. One reason is significant progress in reducing smoking rates, Gansler says. A second reason is that increased use of screening tests has helped find cancers earlier, when treatment is most effective. Finally, advances in treatment are helping people survive longer after diagnosis.

ACS researchers publish their annual forecast of cancer trends after analyzing vast amounts of data from cancer registries, hospitals, cancer research studies, and other sources to get an overview of the cancer landscape and where and why it is changing.

"These publications can help the public and policy planners see where we are making the most progress in the fight against cancer, what is working and what is not, and where and how we need to focus our attention in the immediate future and beyond to make the biggest impact" says Michael Thun, MD, Vice-President of Epidemiology and Surveillance Research with the ACS.

"Knowledge is power," he adds. "It is our aim and our hope that in making this updated information available, individuals and policy planners will use it as a powerful tool in helping us continue the progress that is being made in the ongoing fight against cancer."

It is such reports from epidemiologists – researchers who study the patterns in which disease occurs among populations – that first alerted scientists in the 1950s to the relationship between smoking and cancer. This kind of research also led to the discovery of other risk factors for cancer, such as obesity, high-fat diets, infection with certain viruses, and exposures in the workplace or home to chemicals including asbestos, vinyl chloride, arsenic, and benzene.

Cancer Facts and Figures 2001 contains the basic statistics that both broadly sketch and give detail to cancer trends expected in 2001. It shows that:

• Cancer costs continue to rise, reaching a projected 2001 cost of $180.2 billion, according to the National Institutes of Health.
• Lung cancer remains the number one cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., with an estimated 157,400 deaths expected in 2001.
• Breast, colorectal, and prostate remain the next three leading cancer sites, after lung cancer. The ACS expects 193,700 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year; 135,400 new cases of colorectal cancer; and 198,100 new cases of prostate cancer.

Cancer Facts and Figures 2001 also contains a special section on the nation’s growing problem of obesity. Obesity is increasingly linked to higher risks of breast cancer after menopause and to endometrial, cervical, ovarian, colon, prostate, and gall bladder cancers. The section on obesity also looks at what can be done to cut down on the problem.

"The effects of obesity on cancer risk are not widely recognized by the public, and the prevalence of obesity is increasing in the U.S.," Thun says. "Until now, most of the emphasis on controlling obesity has been directed at individuals. There is a major need to address obesity on a societal basis by increasing access to regular physical activity, discouraging marketing of food through excessive portion sizes, and other measures that make it easier for people to maintain healthy weight."

A separate publication, Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts and Figures 2001, provides information about trends affecting the early detection and prevention of cancer. Highlights of this report are:

• One-fourth of U.S. adults were smokers in 1998, the most recent year for which statistics are available. That percentage has remained unchanged since 1990.
• Fewer than one-fourth of all adults in less than half the states reported eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily in 1998.
• In 1999, just over half of women age 40 and older were screened in a manner consistent with ACS breast cancer screening guidelines. To learn more about the guidelines, visit our Breast Cancer information.
• In 1999, about one-third of adults age 50 and older were screened in a way consistent with ACS colorectal cancer screening guidelines. Visit our Colorectal Cancer information for those recommendations.

To get copies of Cancer Facts and Figures 2001 and Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts and Figures 2001, call the ACS at 1-800-227-2345.