The incidence of cancer in women is increasing faster than in men, according to a new report.
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A study released Thursday paints a mixed and rapidly changing picture of cancer trends. On the one hand, the American Cancer Society’s annual survey found that mortality from the disease declined rapidly, by 34%, between 1991 and 2022. But at the same time, for poorly understood reasons, more more young and middle-aged women are contracting the disease. .
New techniques for detecting and treating many cancers have revolutionized survival rates over the past two decades. But this progress is threatened by the growing threat of early-onset cancers affecting those under 65, who historically were not at high risk of developing the disease.
The American Cancer Society report predicts that more than 2 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2025 and more than 600,000 people will die from it.
The survey found that women are seeing spikes. Overall, cancer incidence rates among women under 50 were 82% higher than their male counterparts in 2021, compared to 51% in 2002. Women aged 50 to 64 also contract cancer at higher rates than men.
Breast cancer, in particular, has increased faster among women under 50: it has increased by 1.4% per year since the mid-2000s, compared to an annual increase of 0.7% among women. older.
“The continued reduction in cancer mortality through reduced smoking, better treatment and earlier detection is certainly great news,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, in a press release. “However, this progress is tempered by an increasing incidence among young and middle-aged women, who are often family caregivers, and by a shift in the cancer burden from men to women.”
For men, the picture is mixed. Lung cancer incidence rates have declined significantly among men of all ages since 1975, but prostate cancer is increasing. it increased from 2014.
The study also highlights racial inequities in access to health care and prevention. Blacks and Native Americans die from certain cancers at rates 2 to 3 times higher than their white counterparts. Cervical cancer, which is considered treatable if monitored with Pap tests, is killing people in these communities at much higher rates.
Although treatments and immunotherapies have improved survival rates for many forms of cancer, the same progress is not seen for all forms of the disease. Mortality rates are increasing among cancers of the oral cavity, pancreas, corpus uteri and liver, for example.
