Cancer deaths are falling in the United States, but some cancers are on the rise, according to a report released Wednesday from the American Cancer Society. Breast, prostate and endometrial cancers are all increasing, as are colorectal and cervical cancers in more young adults.

What You Need To Know

  • Cancer deaths are falling in the United States, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society

  • The drop in cancer mortality is due to less smoking, earlier detection for some cancers and improved treatment

  • The incidence of six cancers is increasing, including breast, prostrate and endometrial

  • Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men in the U.S.

“We’re encouraged by the steady drop in cancer mortality as a result of less smoking, earlier detection for some cancers and improved treatment,” American Cancer Society Senior Scientific Director Rebecca Siegel said in a statement. “But as a nation, we’ve dropped the ball on cancer prevention as incidence continues to increase for many common cancers.”

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second leading cause for women. Two decades ago, colorectal was the fourth deadliest cancer for both genders. Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death for women under 50.

“The continuous sharp increase in colorectal cancer in younger Americans is alarming,” senior study author Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, the American Cancer Society's senior vice president of surveillance and health equity science, said in a statement. “We need to halt and reverse this trend by increasing uptake of screening, including awareness of non-invasive stool tests with follow-up care in people 45 to 49 years old.”

Jemal said roughly a third of people who are diagnosed before the age of 50 have a family history of colorectal cancer or are genetically predisposed and should begin screening even earlier than age 45.

For its 2024 report, the American Cancer Society analyzed the occurrence and outcomes of 200 cancers based on population through 2020 and 2021.

The report found that cervical cancers are decreasing sharply in women in their 20s because they were the first to receive a vaccine for human papillomavirus. Cervical cancer increased, however, for women 30-44 by 1.7% per year from 2012 through 2019. The American Cancer Society recommends more screenings as well as greater HPV vaccine use.

The rate of HPV vaccination varies greatly by state. In 2021, 33% of 13- to 17-year-olds in Mississippi received the vaccine compared with 79% in the District of Columbia.

Cancer incidence in children has leveled off, the report found, except among 15- to 19-year-olds. Thyroid cancer in adolescents has increased 4% per year.

More women are dying of endometrial cancer. The report said it is one of the few cancers with an increasing mortality rate, especially among women of color. Black women die of endometrial cancer at twice the rate of white women.

Black people overall were twice as likely to die from prostate, stomach or uterine cancers as white people, while Native American people were twice as likely to die from liver, stomach and kidney cancers.

Cancer diagnoses are also increasing for people under the age of 65. The report found that 30% of 50- to 64-year-olds were diagnosed with cancer in 2019-20 compared with 25% in 1995. The number of people 65 and older who are diagnosed with cancer decreased from 61% to 58%.

While fewer older adults are diagnosed with prostate cancer and smoking-related cancers, people born after the 1950s have experienced more diagnoses because of higher obesity rates and other unknown factors, the report said.