Why the Change in Cancer Incidence and Mortality Rates?
In a word, screening. Because some cancers, including those of the breast, colon, cervix and prostate are being detected earlier, they have a higher rate of being cured. • Breast cancer: annual screening mammograms have made a difference; the mortality rate has declined in white women, but not in black women. • Colon cancer: screening colonoscopies have had a positive impact on survival through earlier diagnosis and treatment. • Cervical cancer: the Pap smear has detected and been responsible for increasing the earlier diagnosis and ultimate curability of cervical cancer. • Prostate cancer: incidence and overall death rates have been declining, which I believe is due to screening with prostatic specific antigen. Unfortunately, no good screening test has been identified for lung cancer, pancreas cancer, brain tumors and some others. For these cancers, our treatments are curative only in the earliest cases. A recent article on www.cancercontrol.com suggests that screening high-risk peopl
