On Mar. 29, 2012, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that death rates from all cancers combined for men, women, and children continued to decline in the U.S. between 2004 and 2008, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975ﾖ2008.

The overall rate of new cancer diagnoses, also known as incidence, among men decreased by an average of 0.6 percent per year between 2004 and 2008.

The Report to the Nation was first issued in 1998. In addition to drops in overall cancer mortality and incidence, this year’s report also documents the second consecutive year of decreasing lung cancer mortality rates among women. Lung cancer death rates in men have been decreasing since the early 1990s.

Colorectal cancer incidence rates also decreased among men and women from 1999 through 2008. Breast cancer incidence rates among women declined from 1999 through 2004 and plateaued from 2004 through 2008. Incidence rates of some cancers, including pancreas, kidney, thyroid, liver, and melanoma, increased from 1999 through 2008.

Among children aged 19 years or younger, cancer incidence rates increased 0.6 percent per year from 2004 through 2008, continuing trends from 1992, while death rates decreased 1.3 percent per year during the same period. These patterns mirror longer term trends.