The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cancer death rates fell for both men and women from 2019 to 2023.
The agency said in its 2026 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, the drop continued a downward trend that has lasted more than 20 years, driven largely by accelerated progress against lung cancer.
Lung cancer is still the second most common cancer in men and women and the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
The CDC said reducing cigarette smoking, creating tobacco-free environments, expanding early cancer detection, making timely diagnoses and providing state-of-the-art treatment remain key to lowering lung cancer cases and deaths.
While cancer death rates have declined, the CDC said overall rates of new cancer cases rose slightly each year from 2018 to 2022, driven by increases in breast cancer among women and prostate cancer among men. Breast and prostate cancers remain the most common cancers among women and men, respectively.
The annual report provides yearly updates on cancer rates and trends in the U.S. This year’s special topic focuses on changes in lung cancer risk factors and related outcomes during the first quarter of the 21st century.
Click here to read the complete report in the journal Cancer.
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