Current trends in cancer mortality and incidence

In the report, ACS found that the overall cancer mortality rate decreased by 34% between 1991 and 2022, in part due to earlier detection and better treatment.

However, this decline was not observed for all cancer types. Death rates for oral, pancreatic, uterine, and liver cancers have all increased during the same time.

In addition, racial inequalities in cancer mortality continue to persist. For example, Native American people have double or triple the death rates for kidney, liver, stomach, and cervical cancers compared to white people. Black people are also twice as likely to die from prostate, stomach, and uterine cancers compared to white people and are 50% more likely to die from cervical cancer.

At the same time, incidence rates for breast, uterine, and colorectal cancers are on the rise, particularly in woman under the age of 50. In 2021, cancer incidence rates for women under 50 were 82% higher than men in the same age group — an increase from 51% in 2002. Women ages 50 to 64 also have higher cancer incidence than men.

"These unfavorable trends are tipped toward women," said Rebecca Siegel, an epidemiologist with ACS and the report's first author. "Of all the cancers that are increasing, some are increasing in men, but it's lopsided — more of this increase is happening in women."

According to a Harris Poll survey of over 1,100 U.S. women, 72% said they postponed a doctor's visit that would have included a screening, and 50% said they didn't know how often they should be screened for cervical cancer.

Why is cancer incidence increasing in women?

There are several factors contributing to increases in cancer incidence among women, many of which depend on the type of cancer.

For example, increases in breast cancer rates may be partly due to changing fertility patterns. Having children and breastfeeding protect against breast cancer, but more women are postponing childbirth or not having children at all. Other potential risk factors include genetics, family history, and alcohol consumption.

In 2021, lung cancer incidence in women under 65 (15.7 cases per 100,000) exceeded the incidence in men (15.4 cases per 100,000) for the first time. Although rates of lung cancer have been declining over the last decade, they have decreased more rapidly among men since women started smoking later than men and have taken longer to quit.

"Men took up smoking earlier, but over time, men started to quit smoking earlier than women," said Céline Gounder, editor-at-large at KFF Health News. "So some of this is a result of women are still smoking at higher rates, driving the lung cancer rates."

Some health experts have also noted that environmental exposures could be contributing to early-onset cancer among women.

"I think that the rise in not just one but a variety of cancers in younger people, particularly in young women, suggests there is something broader going on than variations in individual genetics or population genetics," said Neil Iyengar, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "It strongly points to the possibility that environmental exposures and our lifestyles in the U.S. are contributing to the rise of cancers in younger people."

According to Siegel, lifestyle and behavioral changes can reduce the risk of many different types of cancer. Maintaining a healthy body weight, limiting alcohol consumption, engaging in physical activity, and getting regular cancer screenings can all help prevent cancer. New research also suggests that maintaining regular sleeping patterns can also help.

"I don't think people realize how much control they have over their cancer risk," Siegel said. "… There are all these things you can do, but they're individual choices, so just pick one that you can focus on. Small changes can make a difference."