Lung and bronchus cancers rank third among the world’s more common types of cancers, according to the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which analyzed cancer occurrences and survival in the United States. Lung and bronchus cancers ranked on the list just under prostate and female breast cancers.
The report entitled “Invasive Cancer Incidence and Survival – United States, 2011” revealed that there are 128 cases of prostate cancer in every 100,000 men, while there are 122 cases of female breast cancer in each 100,000 group of women. The third most typical type are the lung and bronchus cancers, which occurs in 61 cases per 100,000 Americans. The colon and rectum cancers close the list with 40 occurrences per 100,000 people.
In addition, the investigators analyzed the survival of these types of cancer and concluded that lung cancer has the lowest relative survival after five years of diagnosis. While in five years prostate cancer patients had a 97% chance of surviving, breast cancer patients 88% chance and colorectal cancer patients had a 63% chance, patients who suffer from lung cancer have only a 18% probability of surviving.
“These data are an important reminder that a key to surviving with cancer is making sure everyone has access to care from early diagnosis to treatment,” stated in a press release the director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Lisa Richardson, MD. “We know, for example, that early detection of colorectal cancer has had the largest impact on long-term survival rates.”
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Regarding differences in cancer incidence, the authors noted that cancer remains prevalent and that the risk disparities between genders and ethnicities pose a great concern. Most relevant information about ethnicity was the fact that the average five-year relative survival among the top cancers was 60% among black patients and 65% among white patients.
The research team working on the report analyzed cancer survival data from the CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries. The scientists at the CDC reviewed the latest information, relative to 2011, regarding invasive cancers, defined as cancer that spread to surrounding normal tissue from the initial disease location. They did not include in the study, however, urinary bladder cancer.
“We are pleased to include cancer survivor data in this report for the first time. We will review these data annually to track our progress,” added the lead author of the study Jane Henley, who is an epidemiologist at the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control of CDC.