U.S. cancer death rates continue to fall, driven by declines in lung cancer

Cancer death rates in the United States continued to fall for both men and women between 2019 and 2023. According to the 2026 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, this decline has lasted for more than two years

The report was released on September 22. The stats show continued progress in reducing deaths from lung cancer, all of which played an important role in the overall decline in cancer mortality.

Despite these improvements, lung cancer remains the second most common cancer among both men and women in the U.S. and continues to be the leading cause of cancer death.

This year’s annual report focuses on lung cancer trends during the first quarter of the 21st century. Researchers examined changes in major risk factors, cancer diagnoses and deaths, and progress in prevention and treatment.

Progress in treating and preventing lung cancer

Reducing cigarette smoking is an important step in lowing cancer rates, thee report shows how maintaining a tobacco-free environment is important. Continued progress may increasingly depend on people having access to early cancer detection, timely diagnosis and advanced treatments.

Rising cancer diagnosis

Although cancer deaths declined, the number of new cancer cases showed a different pattern. Overall cancer incidence increased each year slightly from 2018 through 2022. A lot of this increase was linked to rising rates of breast cancer among women and prostate cancer among men.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, while prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. Although prostate cancer diagnoses increased, the overall rate of new cancer cases among men remained stable.

The report is able to create a picture of cancer in the United States by examining cancer diagnoses from 2003 through 2022 and cancer deaths from 2004 through 2023. It combines information from national cancer registries with death data collected by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Annual Report to the Nation is produced through a collaboration between the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.

The latest findings from the report show progress in reducing cancer mortality, particularly through advances in the fight against lung cancer. However, the continued rise in some cancer diagnoses highlights the need for ongoing prevention, early detection and improvements in cancer care.