Data compiled annually by the American Cancer Society (ACS) indicates that death rates for most major cancers continue to decline, but a growing and aging population continues to produce a rise in the total number of cancer deaths. The ACS publishes its estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths expected in the United States in the current year as well as the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates in the January/February issue of the CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The 2005 publication shows that the incidence of all cancers combined in men have remained stable between 1995 and 2001, but have increased by 0.3% per year among women between 1987 and 2001. However, the rates of death for all cancers combined have declined for both men and women. Cancer deaths for men have decreased by 1.5% per year since 1993; and for women deaths have decreased by 0.8% per since 1992. Death rates continued to drop for the top three cancer killers in men (cancers of the lung, colon and prostate) and for the second- and third-ranked cancer killers in women (cancers of the breast and colon). Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, but its rate of increase has leveled off after increasing steadily for many decades. The ACS estimates that 1,373 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and 570,280 will die of the disease.

The high mortality rate is due largely to the fact that a majority of these cancers are not detected until the disease has reached an advanced stage, when treatment is less effective. Because of the huge burden of lung cancer in terms of morbidity and mortality, lung cancer was an early focus of the NCI’s SPORE Program. Three Lung SPORE sites were funded in 1992. Subsequently three additional sites have been added raising the total number of Lung SPORE programs to six.