Report Shows Death Rates From Many Cancers Declining.

NBC Nightly News (1/4, story 6, 1:45, Williams) reported, "The American Cancer Society's annual report on cancer stats and cancer trends is out today with some encouraging news inside it. For the biggest cancer killers, death rates are down across the board over the past two decades; 23% for men, 16% for women," which "works out to about a million lives saved since researchers started counting in the early '90s."

        The Los Angeles Times  (1/5, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reports that "cancers that are on the rise include tumors of the pancreas, liver, thyroid and kidneys as well as melanoma of the skin. In addition, oropharyngeal cancers, which are linked to human papillomavirus infection, are on the rise."

        Bloomberg News  (1/5, Ostrow) reports, "While higher incidences of pancreatic, liver and esophageal cancers may be the result of added testing or rising obesity, it's not clear why other less-common cancers are growing in prevalence," according to the report, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

        The National Journal  (1/5, Fox, Subscription Publication) reports, however, that "death rates continue to decline for all four major cancer sites -- the lung; colon and rectum; breast; and prostate, the group said. Lung cancer -- almost all of it due to smoking -- accounted for 40 percent of the total decline in men."

        The CBS News  (1/5, Jaslow) "HealthPop" blog reports that "experts caution these declines aren't scratching the surface of what Americans could do to reduce their cancer risk."

        The CNN  (1/5, Landau) "The Chart" blog reports "Besides tobacco, the combination of obesity, high caloric intake and lack of physical activity is causing cancer among many Americans," Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said, "This will one day surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer death in the United States."

        CQ  (1/5, Bristol, Subscription Publication) reports, "While both new cases and deaths from cancer continue to decline for just about everybody, rates remain significantly higher for African-Americans compared to whites." The report indicates that "black men had a 15 percent higher incidence rate and a 33 percent higher death rate than white men between 1999 and 2008." Meanwhile, "Black women had a 6 percent lower incidence rate but a 16 percent higher death rate than white women."

        AFP  (1/5) reports, "From 1999 to 2008, cancer deaths have dropped in every racial group except for American Indians and Alaska natives, among whom the rates have stayed steady," the report indicated.

        The ABC News  (1/5, Moisse) "Medical Unit" blog points out that "despite the declining death rate, the number of people dying is actually increasing -- a statistic masked by the growing population."

        MSNBC  /MyHealthNewsDaily (1/5) points out that "the report is based on data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." Also covering the story are the Wall Street Journal  (1/5, Hobson, Subscription Publication) "Health Blog," Reuters  (1/5), WebMD  (1/5, Goodman), and HealthDay  (1/5, Gardner).

        Cancer Mortality Rates Among Adolescents, Young Adults Not Improving. The CBS Evening News (1/4, story 5, 3:00, Pelley), after citing data from the new ACS report, reported that "there hasn't been much improvement for teens or young adults" with cancer. CBS correspondent Dr. John LaPook reported, "Adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 39 account for more than 72,000 new cancers every year. Seven times more than pediatric cancers and unlike other groups their mortality rates have not improved." Moreover, LaPook reported, "Survivorship at a young age can lead to a lifetime of complications from the treatment."