Articles Posted in ‘statistics’

The Financial Burden of Cancer

Credit: Rhoda Baer (Photographer), NCI

Cancer care cost the American public $104.1 billion in 2006 – the most recent year for which statistics are available – according to NCI’s newly released Cancer Trends Progress Report-2009/2010 Update. The financial burden of cancer looms even larger, however, when you consider other costs, such as losses in time and economic productivity.

Keeping Tabs on Cancer Rates

Three women huddled around a computer screen, surrounded by SEER publications

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer that was released today shows continued declines in both the rate of new cancer cases and the rate of cancer deaths in the United States over the past several years. The incidence data used in the report were gathered from population-based cancer registries that participate in the NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, and/or the CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR). Information on mortality rates comes from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). This article explores the role of population-based cancer registries.

Colorectal Cancer Treatment Options

chemotherapy drugs in vials

Colorectal cancer mortality rates have been declining in the last decade. Along with screening, advances in colorectal cancer treatment have played a pivotal role in reducing mortality rates. Surgery, traditional chemotherapy and newer targeted therapies have been important tools in treating this disease.