The rates of new lung cancer cases in the US dropped among men in 35 states and among women in 6 states between 1999 and 2008, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among women, lung cancer incidence decreased nationwide between 2006 and 2008, after increasing steadily for decades.
The decrease in lung cancer cases corresponds closely with smoking patterns across the nation. In the West, where smoking prevalence is lower among men and women than in other regions, lung cancer incidence is decreasing faster. Studies show declines in lung cancer rates can be seen as soon as five years after smoking rates decline.
The report also noted that states that make greater investments in effective tobacco control strategies see larger reductions in smoking; and the longer they invest, the greater the savings in smoking–related health care costs. Such strategies include higher tobacco prices, hard-hitting media campaigns, 100% smoke-free policies, and easily accessible quitting treatments and services for those who want to quit.
“Although lung cancer among men and women has decreased over the past few years, too many people continue to get sick and die from lung cancers, most of which are caused by smoking,” says said CDC director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH. “The more we invest in proven tobacco control efforts, the fewer people will die from lung cancer.”
For this report, researchers analyzed lung cancer data from CDC′s National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute′s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. They estimated smoking behavior by state using the CDC′s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Study findings include: among men, lung cancer rates continued to decrease nationwide; from 1999 to 2008 lung cancer rates among men decreased in 35 states and remained stable in nine states; states with the lowest lung cancer incidence among men were clustered in the West; and lung cancer rates among women decreased nationwide between 2006 and 2008, among other findings.
The study is published in the CDC′s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. To read the full report, click here.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
