Many Americans are surviving breast cancer, but this disease is attacking the young and middle-aged and women more often, The American Cancer Society announced on Thursday.
And despite all the improvements in survival, Blacks and Native Americans are dying of certain cancers at rates two to three times higher than white Americans.
This model represents a change to a condition that has been considered a disease of aging, and which used to affect men more than women.
The changes reflect a decline in smoking-related cancers and prostate cancer among older men and a dramatic decline in the number of cancers in people born since the 1950s.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, but the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 85. A new report shows that some 2,041,910 new cases will occur this year and 618,120 Americans will die from the disease.
Six of the 10 most common cancers have increased, including breast cancer and those house of children. Not always on the rise colon cancer in humans under the age of 65, including prostate cancer, melanoma and pancreatic cancer.
Rebecca L. Seigel, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society and the report’s first author said, “These negative effects are shown in women.”
“Of all the cancers that are increasing, some are increasing in men, but it’s not good – a lot of this increase is happening in women.”
Women are also diagnosed in childhood. Breast cancer rates are highest among women under the age of 50 (called early stage breast cancer), as well as among women 50 to 64.
Although there are some early cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, “all rates are in men under the age of 50 and under the age of 50 to 64 years,” Ms. Seigel said.
Several other common problems are described in the report. One is the increase in the incidence of cervical cancer — a widely considered preventable disease in the United States — among women 30 to 44.
The incidence of cervical cancer has been declining since the mid-1970s, when Pap smear screening to detect early changes became widespread. But recent research has shown many women are delaying visits to their gynecologists.
A Harris Poll survey of more than 1,100 American women last year found that 72 percent have stopped visiting their doctor that would include screening; half said they didn’t know how often they should be screened for cancer.
(The current agreement is a little difficult: Get a Pap smear every three years starting at age 21, or a combined Pap smear and test for the human papillomavirus, which can cause cancer, every five years.)
Another negative impact began in 2021 when, for the first time, the incidence of breast cancer in women under the age of 65 exceeded the incidence in men: 15.7 people per 100,000 women under the age of 65, compared with 15.4 per 100,000 among men.
Lung cancer has decreased over the past decade, but it has decreased even more among men. Women tend to smoke later than men and take longer to quit smoking.
There is also an increase in smoking among people born after 1965, years after the surgeon general first warned that smoking causes cancer.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for almost 500 deaths from cancer every day in 2025, most from lung cancer, the American Cancer Society said. .
“There is growing concern that e-cigarettes and vaping could be a burden in the future, given their carcinogenic potential and reputation,” the report said.
Breast cancer has also been increasing over the yearsincreasing by 1 percent annually between 2012 and 2021. The highest increase was seen in women under the age of 50, and increased among Hispanic American, Asian American women and Pacific Islander women.
The increase is driven by the discovery of local cancers and some cancers that use hormones.
Some of the gains come from changing fertility patterns. Childbearing and breastfeeding protect against breast cancer, but many American women are delaying childbearing — or are choosing not to have children.
Other risk factors include genetics, family history and heavy drinking – a habit that increases in women under the age of 50. In older women, body weight may increase the risk of cancer.
Cervical cancer was the only cancer that survived less than 40 years ago, the ACS said.
Deaths are also increasing for breast cancer in women, and for oral cancer in both sexes.
Pancreatic cancer has been increasing in incidence among men and women for decades. It is now the third leading cause of cancer. As with many other cancers, obesity is believed to help.
Little progress has been made in understanding and treating pancreatic cancer. The death rate has risen since record keeping, rising to 13 per 100,000 in men and 10 per 100,000 in women today, up from five per 100,000 in men and women in the 1930s. .
The lack of progress has made many scientists and doctors frustrated. Cancer is often very aggressive when diagnosed, and the five-year survival rate is only 13 percent.
“We need to make progress in understanding specifically what causes pancreatic cancer to grow, what treatment will prevent this cancer, what can prevent it in the first place, and how we can diagnose it early,” said Dr. Amy Abernathy, an oncologist with Highlander Health, which focuses on rapid clinical research.
Some experts are beginning to acknowledge that environmental factors can cause early cancer, in addition to the usual suspects: lifestyle, genetics and family history people
Neil Iyengar, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan, said: “I think the increase is not just one but many types of cancer in young people, especially young women. , suggests that there is something more going on than genetic or genetic changes,” said Neil Iyengar, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan. Kettering Cancer Center.
“It shows how the environment and our lifestyle in America are contributing to cancer in young people.”
Public health efforts to reduce lifestyle risks have focused on higher-risk populations and older Americans, who are also more likely to develop cancer. , he noted.
But the risks of young people will be different.
New research shows that maintaining regular sleep, for example, can also help prevent cancer, he said.
Lifestyle and behavioral changes can reduce the risk of many cancers, Ms. Siegel said.
“I don’t think people realize how much control they have over their cancer risk,” she said. “There’s a lot we can all do. Stop smoking is the most important thing. “
Among others: Control body weight; do not drink or consume alcohol; eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and less red meat and processed meat; physical activity; and regular cancer screenings.
“There are all these things you can do, but they are personal choices, so just choose one that you can focus on,” he said. “Small changes can make a difference.”