The cancer death rate in the United States has fallen 33% since 1991, meaning that around 3.8 million lives have been saved in that period, according to data released Thursday by the American Cancer Society.
"This is truly amazing," Karen Knudsen, executive director of the organization that conducted the study, said in a statement, indicating that the death rate continued to decline in 2020, the latest year for which data is available. available, with a drop of 1.5% compared to 2019.
A cancer patient and her doctors in a file image. Maskot / Getty Images
The authors of the study indicate that there were three major factors that contributed to the reduction in deaths from cancer: advances in available medical treatments, increased early detection of cases, and reduced tobacco use.
"New insights in prevention, early detection and treatment have resulted in a real and significant improvement for patients suffering from one of the 200 diseases we call cancer," Knudsen added.
Another factor that contributed to the decrease in mortality were the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines that millions of young women in the United States received during that period.
In fact, for that population group, in their mid-20s, there was a 65% decline in cervical cancer between 2012 and 2019. That "is completely in line with the time the HPV vaccine went into effect." "Dr. William Dahut, one of the study authors, said in an interview with CNN.