Experts warn that obesity could soon be the driving force behind new cancer cases in the United States

U.S. cancer mortality in the male, female, and color communities is declining, but unequal access to obesity and care can threaten the benefits of fierce fighting over the last two decades, a new report reports. is showing.

The American Cancer Society’s annual report, which measures cancer cases and mortality through 2018, depicts a mixed picture of US efforts to combat the second most common cause of death, said the report’s lead author. , Said Falhad Islami, Science Director of Cancer Disparities at the American Cancer Society. the study.

Lung and melanoma mortality rates have improved significantly, but recent developments in breast and colon cancer mortality have slowed, and prostate cancer mortality has leveled off after years of decline. The report states.

Experts said years of efforts to control tobacco smoking and tobacco use, along with improved medical care, have resulted in a significant improvement in lung cancer mortality.

“Reduced smoking is a big reason,” said Dr. Otis Broley, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and former chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. “Remember that smoking causes 18 different cancers, not just lung cancer.”

New drugs to treat people with melanoma that spread to other parts of the body also improved survival, Islam said.

A new report published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute includes age, gender, and people from 2001 to 2018, based on death certificates reported to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the State and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Includes mortality by species and ethnicity. statistics.

Overall, cancer mortality declined at a faster rate from 2015 to 2018 compared to rates since 2001. Mortality from cancer in men fell by 2.3% annually from 2015 to 2018 and faster than 1.8% annually from 2001 to 2015. The annual cancer mortality rate was 1.4% from 2001 to 2015, while it decreased by 2.1% from 2015 to 2018.

Cancer mortality also declined in all racial and ethnic groups between 2014 and 2018. However, black mortality remains high overall compared to whites and other racial and ethnic groups.

Despite the reduced mortality rate of most types of cancer in men and women, not all trends were positive. Increased mortality from cancer of the brain, nervous system, and pancreas in men and women. Oral and throat cancers are increasing in men, and liver and uterine cancers are increasing in women.

However, experts warn that obesity may soon overtake smoking. And the numbers show that positive progress in common cancers such as breast and colon cancer is slowing. One of the possible factors is an increase in obesity.

Brawley agrees that overeating and under-exercise “energy imbalances” put more Americans at risk for cancer. Brawley quoted a previous study that predicted that such increased obesity and lack of exercise would rob tobacco as a major cause of cancer over the last decade.

“Consider that tobacco control pushes down rates and energy imbalances push up rates at the same time,” Brawly said. “By the way, cancers with increasing or non-increasing mortality in this study are most closely associated with energy imbalances.”

The data do not capture cancer cases and deaths since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but researchers find that slowing screening during the blockage has caused doctors and patients to miss early-stage cases. I’m afraid it could mean.

“They may be diagnosed a year later,” Islam said. “Unfortunately, increasing the rate of cancer at a more advanced stage will eventually lead to higher mortality.”

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