Cancer deaths show sharp decline

New report from the American Cancer Society finds largest single-year decline in cancer deaths ever recorded.

(NBC News) — More people than ever are winning the fight against cancer. The American Cancer Society’s annual report on cancer rates and trends finds death rates have declined 29 percent in 26 years.

That figure includes a 2.2 percent decrease from 2016 to 2017, the largest one year decline of cancer deaths ever reported.

“It’s highly significant we’re seeing such a tremendous drop which means we’re getting better at treating certain cancers,” says Dr. William Cance, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society.

Mortality rates of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths, are down significantly…four percent per year over the past five years.

Melanoma death rates saw an ever sharper decline.

“That’s largely due to the immunotherapy,” Dr. Cance says. “The ability to create drugs that stimulate the body to fight and attack the melanoma cells has resulted in a longer survival.”

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