WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. cancer death rates declined for both men and women from 2019 through 2023, extending a more than two-decade drop driven largely by faster progress against lung cancer, according to the 2026 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.
Lung cancer remains the second most common cancer among both men and women and the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, despite improvements tied to declining smoking rates and advances in detection and treatment.
Researchers said sustaining further progress may depend on continued reductions in cigarette smoking, support for tobacco-free environments, broader access to early cancer detection, timely diagnosis and state-of-the-art treatment.
The report also found that overall rates of newly diagnosed cancer rose slightly each year from 2018 through 2022. The increase was driven by higher breast cancer incidence among women and prostate cancer incidence among men.
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women, while prostate cancer is the most common among men. Despite the increase in prostate cancer, the overall rate of new cancer cases among men remained stable.
The annual report examines cancer incidence and mortality trends using national registry and death-certificate data. This year’s edition covers new cancer cases from 2003 through 2022 and cancer deaths from 2004 through 2023.
The report is produced jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.
Cancer registry data used in the analysis are supported by the CDC and NCI and compiled by the association, while mortality data come from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The full report is available at https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.70577
Support the local news that supports Chester County. MyChesCo delivers reliable, fact-based reporting and essential community resources—free for everyone. If you value that, click here to become a patron today.