Role Medical

Cancer death rates for men, women and children steadily decreased from 2004 to 2008, according to a new report from four major national cancer tracking groups. The declines in death and new cases of cancer reflect progress against the disease in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment, but experts say rising obesity may present a new challenge in the fight against cancer.

From 1999 to 2008, cancer death rates declined by an average of 1.7 percent per year for men, 1.3 percent per year for women and 1.5 percent annually for children, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. The report was published online today in the journal Cancer.

The declining death rates applied to all types of cancer, including the four most common: lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers.

The numbers of new cases of many cancers have also been on the decline. Cancer of all types among men dropped by 0.6 percent each year from 2004 to 2008, the report said. Among women, the rate of new cases declined by 0.5 percent each year from 1998 to 2006, then leveled off until 2008.

New cases of many specific cancers went down, including prostate, colorectal, lung and breast cancers. But certain kinds of cancer actually increased, such as those of the pancreas, kidney, thyroid, liver and melanoma.