U.S. Cancer Mortality Declined 35% Since 1991, AACR Report Shows

The total cancer death rate in the U.S. decreased by 35% in between 1991 and 2024, leading to nearly 5 million cancer deaths avoided, according to the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Cancer Progress Report.

That decrease was mostly driven by reduced smoking cigarettes rates and an occurring decrease in lung cancer deaths, a pattern that sped up due to advances in early detection and treatment.

Decreases in death rates for colorectal cancer and breast cancer over the previous 3 years have actually likewise been type in lowering the total U.S. cancer death rate, the AACR stated.

“Today the 5-year cancer-related survival rate for all cancers combined has reached a milestone of 71%, a testament to the power of cancer research,” stated AACR president Keith Flaherty, MD, of the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute in Boston, throughout a congressional rundown accompanying release of the report.

The AACR alerted that advances in cancer research study deal with a hazard in the type of proposed guidelines that “would inject political considerations into funding decisions and give federal agencies broader authority to terminate grants, including awards supporting ongoing clinical trials, for reasons unrelated to scientific merit or recipient performance.”

“The current turmoil at NIH and other federal health agencies threatens continued progress for patients,” Flaherty stated. “We urge Congress to maintain strong bipartisan support for sustained federal investment, so that life-saving discoveries leading to advances in cancer can continue.”

FDA Approvals

The AACR kept in mind that in between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the FDA authorized 11 brand-new anticancer treatments and brand-new signs for 5 formerly authorized anticancer treatments.

And while it was not consisted of in the present report, Flaherty highlighted last month’s approval of the first-in-class RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib (Rasonque) for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) after a stage III medical trial revealed that second-line treatment with the drug doubled typical total survival versus private investigator’s option of chemotherapy in metastatic PDAC related to RAS G12 anomalies.

In a tape-recorded message, previous Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who last December was detected with metastatic, phase IV pancreatic cancer and was informed his life span was 3 months, spoke about how he “was blessed to be one of the guinea pigs in a clinical trial that produced a now-FDA approved treatment for pancreatic cancer.”

The AACR report likewise detailed how research study on preventive and restorative cancer vaccines is getting momentum.

A current research study revealed that a peptide vaccine targeting KRAS anomalies in clients at high threat for pancreatic cancer caused resilient T-cell reactions, while another research study revealed that an investigational personalized vaccine for surgically resected cancer malignancy showed long lasting advantages in decreasing the threats of reoccurrence and remote spread after 5 years.

The report likewise kept in mind that successes in the battle versus cancer differ by cancer type and phase.

For clients identified in between 2016 and 2022, the total 5-year relative survival rate was 14% for pancreatic cancer and 7% for glioblastoma multiforme, compared to 92% for breast cancer and 98% for prostate cancer.

The high total survival rates for breast and prostate cancers, nevertheless, varied by phase. For people with illness restricted to the breast or prostate, the 5-year survival rate is almost 100%, while the rates are simply 34% and 40%, respectively, for those with metastatic illness.

The AACR likewise explained that the occurrence of early-onset cancers is increasing, and has actually grown disproportionately amongst women.

GLP-1 Medications and Cancer

A decrease in cigarette smoking rates and the decrease in lung cancer deaths is simply one example of the association in between cancer cases and flexible danger aspects.

The AACR report keeps in mind that about 40% of cancer cases in the U.S. and 41% of all cancer cases and deaths worldwide can be credited to flexible danger aspects. While the rate of cigarette smoking tobacco has actually decreased considerably, other threat aspects, like weight problems, continue to increase.

The concentrate on obesity-related cancers has actually caused research study on weight reduction interventions like GLP-1 agonists and whether they can possibly decrease the threat of those cancers.

A 2026 research study, for instance, connected GLP-1 usage to a 41% lower threat of obesity-associated cancers compared to clients recommended diet plan or workout, while a different research study revealed that using those weight problems medications in clients with phase I-III colorectal, liver, breast, or lung cancers was substantially related to lower rates of development to metastatic illness over a 5-year duration.

Other research study recommended that GLP-1 usage might likewise be related to decreases in the danger of skin, prostate, hematologic, and some gynecologic cancers.

Another research study– a big evaluation of 48 medical trials including more than 94,000 individuals treated with GLP-1 agonists– discovered no considerable decrease in the general danger of obesity-related cancers, while other research study has actually recommended GLP-1 usage might increase the danger of some cancers. Therefore, “evidence regarding GLP-1 use and cancer risk reduction remains inconsistent,” the report specified.

“Additional research will be needed to determine whether these medications can effectively reduce cancer risk, and if so, what types of cancers,” Flaherty stated. “How can we integrate these therapies ultimately in terms of providing a more precision prevention early diagnosis strategy?”