Health : Health Buzz: Cancer Deaths Down Overall, but Still High for Some Groups

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Health Buzz: Cancer Deaths Down Overall, but Still High for Some Groups Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:47 AM PDT Latest U.S. Cancer Stats Released Nearly 1.6 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and approximately 571,950 of them will be killed by the disease, according to the American Cancer Society's annual report on cancer incidence and mortality, released today. Cancer remains a leading cause of death in the United States, second only to heart disease. Although the overall cancer death rate has been falling since 1990—down 22.2 percent for men and 13.9 percent for women—disparities still exist among socioeconomic and racial groups, according to the report. In 2007, for example, cancer deaths among the least-educated Americans were more than double those of the most-educated people. Nearly 40 percent of those deaths could have been prevented, the report authors say. "We need to apply what we know to avert unnecessary deaths from cancer," coauthor Elizabeth Ward of the American Cancer Society told CNN. "We need to make sure that all populations and communities have access to this life-saving information. At the same time, we need to continue to do research because we don't have all the answers yet." Free Services for Women With Breast Cancer Avoiding Cancer: Your Nine-Point Action Plan What Causes Cancer? 7 Strange Cancer Claims Explained Bras, deodorant, and mouthwash­—just a few of the everyday products that have been linked to cancer at some point during the past several decades. Preposterous? Not at the time, and new suspects have been added to the list. Here's the real story behind a roll call of ordinary household items that have come under scrutiny: Artificial Sweeteners. The link: Calorie watchers scored a win when diet sodas were introduced in the early 1950s. Then lab studies suggested that the sweetener cyclamate caused bladder cancer in rats, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned its use. Then saccharin, the replacement of choice, was also shown to cause tumors in rats. Although saccharin was never banned, all products containing the sweetener were required to carry a cancer warning on their packaging. The reality: No evidence has since emerged that either cyclamate, which is used in other countries, or saccharin causes cancer in humans, according to the National Cancer Institute. Although cyclamate is still banned, in 2000 saccharin was taken off the government's list of possible carcinogens and saccharin products shed the warning label. The sweetener aspartame has come under suspicion, but scientists have found no increased risk of cancer in humans. [Read more: What Causes Cancer? 7 Strange Cancer Claims Explained.] When It Comes to Avoiding Cancer, Weight Matters 4 Steps to Take Now to Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk Cancer Prevention: Rethink Your Diet as Well as Your Smoking If everyone were to quit smoking today, nearly 450,000 fewer Americans would die annually from smoking-related diseases. Yet even with all the smoking bans across the country, one in five Americans still lights up regularly—a rate that's plateaued since 2005 after four decades of decline, according to a report issued last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the smoking-lung cancer connection is an old story, every week, it seems, another headline tells you what you should or shouldn't eat to avert the "big C". Eat a colorful array of fruits and vegetables to ward off lung cancer, says one recent study; avoid soft drinks if you don't want to die of pancreatic cancer, warns another. Wine is good for your heart, but may increase your risk of breast cancer, others suggest. And who wouldn't be willing to give up the Diet Coke or chardonnay to sidestep the disease we fear most? It you took action based on research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, you might find yourself forgoing hamburgers and chicken wings and embracing soy burgers, tofu, and peanut butter instead. That study found that an Atkins-style diet that emphasized vegetable protein over animal protein lowered the risk of cancer. But all things considered, how much do dietary changes really matter in terms of cancer prevention? "Right after smoking, diet ranks right up there as the No. 2 modifiable risk factor," says Demetrius Albanes, a senior investigator and medical epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute. "Twenty-five percent of cancers can be related back to eating practices." Does that mean we really need to avoid soft drinks if we don't want to get pancreatic cancer, as was suggested by a study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention? "I don't think we can say that," Albanes says. "That particular study from Singapore didn't control very well for smoking, which is an important risk factor for pancreatic cancer." In other words, it could be that those who down daily six-packs of Fanta are also more likely to light up. [Read more: Cancer Prevention: Rethink Your Diet as Well as Your Smoking.] What's the Link, if Any, Between Dietary Fat and Breast Cancer? Best Cancer Hospitals This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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