Morning Business Report: Advances in medicine drive cancer death rates lower despite rising cases
Cancer remains one of the world’s leading causes of death, claiming an estimated 10 million lives each year.
(LILAMAX)- Cancer remains one of the world’s leading causes of death, claiming an estimated 10 million lives each year. But according to The Economist, those numbers can be misleading. The rising toll is largely tied to people living longer, which increases the chances of developing cancer. When adjusting for age, cancer rates have actually declined over the past 30 years, thanks to major advances in medicine and prevention.
The falling mortality rate reflects progress in prevention, early detection, and treatment. The single biggest factor has been a sharp reduction in smoking, which is responsible for about 85 percent of lung cancers and 20 percent of all cancer deaths worldwide. Regular screenings such as mammograms, colonoscopies, and cervical tests have also helped doctors identify and remove precancerous growths before they become life-threatening.
Improved surgical techniques and cancer drugs have raised survival rates for many patients, while breakthroughs in immunotherapy — treatments that boost the immune system to better fight cancer — have shown remarkable results in recent years. Between 1975 and 2020, these advances are estimated to have prevented nearly six million deaths in the U.S. from lung, breast, bowel, prostate, and cervical cancers, which once accounted for the majority of cancer fatalities.
Looking ahead, technology is expected to push cancer survival rates even higher. Today, scientists can test a single blood sample for thousands of proteins — a leap from just a handful a decade ago. Artificial intelligence is also being studied for its potential to spot subtle patterns in scans that human eyes might miss, improving early detection. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies are exploring the possibility of cancer vaccines.
Though the fight against cancer is far from over, experts say it is becoming less deadly, with medical innovation offering hope for continued progress in the years to come.
