The American Cancer Society announces the publication of Cancer Facts & Figures 2001 and Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2001

American Cancer Society
Monday, 8 January 2001

Two annual American Cancer Society publications are now available in print and will soon be available on the Society's webstie (www.cancer.org).

Cancer Facts & Figures 2001, the Society's annual estimates of expected numbers of new cancer cases and deaths. (This year's edition has a special section on obesity.)

Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2001, a complementary publication, presenting data for the nation and states on tobacco use, nutrition, physical activity and screening examinations.

Highlights of Cancer Facts & Figures 2001:

- An estimated 1,268,000 new cases of cancer and 553,400 cancer deaths are expected in the U.S. in 2001 (page 4)

- The five-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined is 60%, an increase of 1% from the report in 2000.

- The National Institutes of Health estimate for overall cost of cancer in the year 2000 is at an all time high of $180.2 billion (page 4).

- Lung cancer remains the number one cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. with an estimated 157,400 deaths expected in 2001.

A special section on obesity (pages 20-27) provides an overview on the adverse effects of obesity on a wide range of health problems. The section highlights accumulating evidence that suggests that obesity increases the risk for cancers of the breast, endometrium (uterine corpus), cervix, ovary, gallbladder, colon, and prostate.

The increases in obesity in the U.S. over the past two decades are likely to increase cancer deaths in those cancers associated with obesity.

Also included in this section is information on:

- the obesity epidemic in the U.S.,
- trends in obesity since 1971,
- obesity trends by state,
- obesity prevalence by gender,
- demographic and behavioral characteristics,
- factors influencing obesity; and
- suggested public health and public policy approaches to reduce the prevalence of obesity.

Highlights of Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2001

- In 1998, approximately one fourth (24.1%) of U. S. adults were current cigarette smokers. This percentage has not changed since1990 (page 5)

- In 1998, fewer than one in four adults (23.9%) reported eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily in more than half of the states (pages 10-11).

- In 1999, approximately one half (53.4%) of women 40 and older were screened in a manner consistent with American Cancer Society breast cancer screening guidelines (pages 24-25).

- In 1999, approximately one-third (32,3% of adults 50 years and older were screened consistent with American Cancer Society colorectal screening guidelines (pages 27-28)

Both of these annual American Cancer Society publications will be available on the Society's website (www.cancer.org) shortly.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org