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Enhancing mental health treatment could reduce cancer burden

In a study that examines the ​​​association of mental health treatment receipt with cancer screening among US adults with a history of anxiety or depression, Principal Scientist of Cancer Disparity Research Jordan Baeker Bispo shows enhancing mental health treatment could reduce cancer burden.

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  • ​Mortality disparities rise by county poverty level in the US for leading causes of death during past 30 years.

    A new study released by ACS researchers shows disparities in mortality from 10 leading causes of death by county-level poverty widened during the past three decades in the United States. 

    “There hasn’t been a lot of investigation about the progress in cause-specific mortality across US counties by socio-economic status,” said Dr. Daniel Wiese, principal scientist, cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. “The good news is we discovered we’re making headway against mortality for people affected by health disparities in this country concerning many diseases like heart disease, cancer, and influenza, but we still have a long way to go for many others.” ​​

    “This research highlights the pressing need for Congress and state lawmakers to prioritize policies that make health care affordable for everyone,” said Lisa A. Lacasse, president of ACS’s advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “We urge Congress to support the Medicaid program and the 10 states that have yet to increase Medicaid eligibility to act quickly.” 

    Other ACS researchers contributing to the study include Dr. Hyuna SungDr. Ahmedin Jemal, and senior author Dr. Farhad Islami.

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  • A special series launches in flagship ACS journal

    ​The American Cancer Society launched a new series in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians called the American Cancer Society Research Award Spotlight, which will highlight ACS-sponsored investigators across the United States. The first paper from the series, published on Jan. 9, highlights a study about the underrepresentation of Hispanic women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. An accompanying introductory editorial written by CA Editor-in-Chief Don Dizon, MD, and Christina Annunziata, MD, PhD, a member of CA’s ACS Advisory Council, introduced the new series. 

    ​As the flagship journal of the American Cancer Society, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians reaches a diverse group of oncology specialists, primary care clinicians, and other professionals who interact with patients with cancer. All content published in CA is free to access without a subscription.

    Each year, the ACS extends support to investigators at institutions across the United States as part of its grants program, funding research for high school interns through world-renowned professors, including the ACS Professorship. 

    For more information on ACS-funded cancer research, visit cancer.org, which has a full list of up-to-date funded research grants and current and past ACS professors. 

  • ACS releases Cancer Facts & Figures report

    ​​​The American Cancer Society has released key findings from Cancer Statistics,​ 2025 and its consumer-friendly companion, Cancer Facts & Figures 2025. The report, published annually since 1951, is considered the gold standard for cancer surveillance information, with timely cancer findings to help improve the lives of people with cancer.

    This year’s report shows the cancer mortality rate declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022 in the United States, averting approximately 4.5 million deaths. However, this steady progress is jeopardized by increasing incidence for many cancer types, especially among women and younger adults, shifting the burden of disease. For example, incidence rates in women 50-64 years of age have surpassed those in men, and rates in women under 50 are now 82% higher than their male counterparts, up from 51% in 2002. This pattern includes lung cancer, which is now higher in women than in men among people younger than 65 years. These important findings are published Jan. 16 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, alongside Cancer Facts & Figures 2025, available on cancer.org.​​

    “Continued reductions in cancer mortality because of drops in smoking, better treatment, and earlier detection is certainly great news,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report. “However, this progress is tempered by rising incidence in young and middle-aged women, who are often the family caregivers, and a shifting cancer burden from men to women, harkening back to the early 1900s when cancer was more common in women.”

    Learn More and Share

    We should be proud of the Cancer Facts & Figures suite of publications, their significant role in the medical and scientific community, and the trusted resource they have become for so many worldwide. We encourage you to become familiar with these resources, share them, and know where to go with questions.​

    ​Overall, in 2025, there will be an estimated 2,041,910 new cancer diagnoses in the US (5,600 each day) and 618,120 cancer deaths. In addition to projecting the contemporary cancer burden, ACS researchers compiled the most recent findings on population-based cancer occurrence and outcomes using incidence data collected by central cancer registries (through 2021) and mortality data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (through 2022).

    The report also highlights lagging progress against pancreatic cancer, which is the third leading cause of cancer death in the US. Both incidence and mortality rates are increasing, and the five-year survival rate is just 8% for the 9 out of 10 people diagnosed with pancreatic exocrine tumors.

    Other highlights from the report include:

    • Despite overall declines in cancer mortality, death rates are increasing for cancers of the oral cavity, pancreas, uterine corpus, and liver (female).

    • Additionally, alarming inequalities in cancer mortality persist, with rates in Native American people 2-3 times higher than White people for kidney, liver, stomach, and cervical cancers. Black people are twice as likely to die of prostate, stomach, and uterine corpus cancers compared to White people and 50% more likely to die from cervical cancer, which is preventable.

    • Incidence rates continue to climb for common cancers, including breast (female), prostate (steepest increase at 3% per year from 2014-2021), pancreatic, uterine corpus, melanoma (female), liver (female), and oral cancers associated with the human papillomavirus. 

    • The rate of new diagnoses of colorectal cancer in men and women younger than 65 years of age and cervical cancer in women (30-44 years of age) has also increased. Notably, lung cancer incidence in women under 65 years of age surpassed men for the first time in 2021 (15.7 versus 15.4 per 100,000 people).

    • Cancer incidence in children (14 years of age and younger) declined in recent years after decades of increase but continued to rise among adolescents (ages 15-19 years). Mortality rates have dropped by 70% in children and by 63% in adolescents since 1970, largely because of improved treatment for leukemia.

    ​Quick facts about ACS Cancer Facts & Figures 

    • Since 1951, Cancer Facts & Figures has been the public’s go-to resource for timely cancer information. This annual report provides the most current information about cancer.
    • The audience for the publication extends not just nationwide, but globally, and equips health professionals, educators, policymakers, patients, and others with crucial findings.
    • Once a stand-alone publication, Cancer Facts & Figures is now the flagship work in a highly regarded series of nine reports under the purview of the Surveillance and Health Equity Science team. Updating each report is about a 6-month collaboration between renowned cancer experts from ACS and other top research institutions across the country.
    • Each Cancer Facts & Figures report is published with a companion article in the ACS journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
    • A unique feature of Cancer Facts & Figures is their state-specific data: the publications break down projections by state and at the national level.
    • ACS Cancer Facts & Figures publications are downloaded on average about 9,000 per month or about 300 times every single day.

  • ACS awards more than $98M in research grants

    ​​The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, nonprofit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has announced funding for $98 million in new Extramural Discovery Science (EDS) research grants. The awards will fund investigators at 106 institutions across the United States starting this month. 
     
    This slate of new grants includes the previously announced recipients of the Yosemite-ACS Awards, the new Catalyst Awards, and all of the research grants awarded through our standard grant mechanisms including Postdoctoral Fellowships, Research Scholar Grants, Discovery Boost Grants, and more. A full list of all the new awards included in this grant slate can be found on cancer.org.  
     
    Altogether, ACS invested more than $132 million in new cancer research in 2024. With an investment of more than five billion dollars since 1946, ACS has a legacy of supporting lifesaving cancer research, including supporting the work of 53 researchers who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize for their work.

  • ACS and ACS CAN commend U.S. Surgeon General’s efforts to reduce alcohol-related cancers

    On Friday, Jan. 3, the United States Surgeon General released a new advisory report, citing evidence that links alcohol consumption with an increased risk of cancer. ACS supports these efforts to drive awareness of the correlation between alcohol and cancer diagnosis and death. According to ACS research, consumption of alcohol has a clear association with cancer diagnosis and death, with 6% of all cancers and 4% of all cancer deaths in the United States attributed to alcohol consumption. In 2024 alone, it is predicted that alcohol use will have contributed to 120,000 new cancer diagnoses and more than 24,000 deaths.

    "Today’s advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General brings necessary awareness to the risks of alcohol consumption as it relates to cancer incidence,” said Dr. Bill Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society. “Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer. It is imperative that people are made aware of the potential impact of alcohol consumption and are met with recommendations on how to reduce their risk.”

    Dr. Dahut was also quoted in multiple media outlets about the report, including:

    • NBC News: Surgeon general's suggestion to put a cancer warning on alcohol is long overdue, doctors say
    • The Washington Post: How much alcohol is safe to drink? 
    • MedPageToday: Surgeon General calls for stronger wording of cancer risk on alcohol packages 

    ​More information on ACS guidelines for alcohol use can be found on cancer.org.

  • Study finds early-onset colorectal cancer cases surge globally

    ​A new study led by ACS researchers shows that early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence rates are rising in 27 of 50 countries/territories worldwide, 20 of which have either exclusive or faster increases for early-onset disease. ​

    In 14 countries, including the United States, rates are increasing in young adults while stabilizing in those 50 years and older. The research is published in the journal The Lancet Oncology.

    “The increase in early-onset colorectal cancer is a global phenomenon,” said Dr. Hyuna Sung, senior principal scientist, cancer surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. ​

    “The global scope of this concerning trend highlights the need for innovative tools to prevent and control cancers linked to dietary habits, physical inactivity, and excess body weight. Ongoing efforts are essential to identify the additional factors behind these trends and to develop effective prevention strategies tailored to younger generations and local resources worldwide,” added Sung. “Raising awareness of the trend and the distinct symptoms of early-onset colorectal cancer (e.g., rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, and unexplained weight loss) among young people and primary care providers can help reduce delays in diagnosis and decrease mortality.”

    Other ACS researchers contributing to the study include Rebecca SiegelChenxi Jiang, and senior author Dr. Ahmedin Jemal.

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