Map shows how death rates have declined over past 20 years in every congressional district
Whether red or blue, cancer rates are falling in every congressional district of America.
Researchers at the American Cancer Society found that the deadly disease now causes fewer deaths than it did in the 1990s in all 435 districts of the country.
The areas with the greatest declines were around New York City, Miami New Orleans and Honolulu.
Among congressional districts, the biggest declines were around the areas around big blue cities and urban settings where cancer care is more easily accessible and people tend to have more money.
Scientists pointed to lower smoking rates and better cancer screening to explain the trends.
A report from the American Cancer Society found that cancer deaths have declined in all of America’s 435 congressional districts since the 1990s (map of % decline)
The map above shows the percentage change in cancer deaths among men since the 1990s
This map shows the percentage change in cancer deaths among women since the 1990s
Urban areas also tended to see larger shifts in cancer death rates, which may be related to lower rates of obesity — a major risk factor.
Rural areas, on the other hand, tended to see smaller changes in their cancer death rates.
In men overall, the decline was 20 to 45 percent by district, while female fatalities fell 10 to 40 percent.
Lung, colon and breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men showed the strongest decreases.
Each year, about 600,000 Americans die from cancer, the second leading cause of death in the country behind only heart disease.
Lung and bronchus cancer is the leading cause of death in the group, after 127,000 deaths per year. The second most common is colorectal cancer, after nearly 53,000 deaths.
Officials in recent years have paid more attention to reducing cancer deaths and stepped up efforts to curb smoking, which is now near an all-time low.
Last year, US President Joe Biden also announced his $1 billion “Cancer Moonshot” program, which aims to halve cancer deaths in the US over the next 25 years.
For the study, published this week in the journal Cancerscientists analyzed data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which compiles cancer death figures from across the US.
The data was split into three eight-year date periods: 1996 to 2003, 2004 to 2011, and 2012 to 2020.
A mortality rate was then calculated for each district and standardized by age to allow for comparisons.
The data was based on the boundaries for the 116th U.S. Congress, which ran from January 2019 to January 2021. It included 435 seats in the House of Representatives plus one non-voting seat for the District of Columbia.
Cancer deaths fell the most in Washington DC, down 60 percent, and congressional districts in Hawaii near Honolulu, down 58 percent.
Within many individual states, the places with the smaller declines were rural or near cities.
They include rural parts of Kentucky, Nebraska, and Missouri, as well as areas near Oklahoma City and Kansas City.
Overall, the study found that cancer death rates were highest in the south of the country in the early 1990s.
But by the year 2020, these had shifted to the Midwest, East, and West South-Central areas of the country.
The team led by Dr Farhad Islami, a cancer researcher with the association, said fewer Americans smoked was one of the main factors leading to lower rates.
About 63 percent of American adults smoked cigarettes in 1996, but two decades later this had dropped to less than 12 percent.
More screening programs – to detect cancer early and when it is easier to treat – were also behind the dip.
These include breast cancer, with women being asked for screening every two years, and colorectal cancer, with screenings every 10 years.
Advances in cancer treatments were also suggested to be behind the dip, but these were only patchily implemented in districts.
This was due to wealth disparities and the fact that ten states have not expanded Medicaid coverage. These are Wyoming, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.
Of the top 20 counties with the smallest improvement in cancer deaths, three were in these states.
The map above shows the cancer death rate by congressional district from 1996 to 2003 (left) and from 2012 to 2020. It shows how rates have fallen across the country
This map shows how the number of cancer deaths per 100,000 people was concentrated in the southern US in the late 1990s.
But by the 2010s, rates had dropped dramatically — up to 60 percent compared to the 1990s — which researchers say was thanks to lower smoking rates and early screening.
By ethnic group and gender, researchers found the greatest improvement in cancer deaths among black men — though their rates remained higher than those in other groups.
Dr. Islami announced the results of the report as “good news” for the nation due to declining cancer death rates.
He also explained that the data was calculated by congressional districts to pressure politicians to increase cancer survival rates in their states.
Lisa Lacasse, the president of the ACS’s Cancer Action Network, said the data showed the country was “moved closer to our vision of ending cancer as we know it.”
She called on politicians to take more action to lower cancer death rates in America by improving access to early detection services, expanding Medicaid and approving funding for prostate cancer screening.
Her words came after a federal judge said in March that insurers would not have to continue to cover the costs of some preventive care, such as cancer screening.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor overruled the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force since 2010, which provides guidelines for best practices for disease screening.
The map above shows the cancer death rate for women in 1996 to 2003 (left) and 2012 to 2020. It also shows a sharp decline, especially in the south of the country
The above map shows the cancer death rate per 100,000 people by US congressional district for the years 1996 to 2003
And this map shows rates by congressional district from 2012 to 2020
Among women, Hawaii’s Second District saw the largest drop in cancer deaths (-56 percent), next to Hawaii’s First District and the District of Columbia.
New York’s 15th and 13th and Florida’s 27th also saw reductions of more than 50 percent.
In men, the district of Columbia saw the largest drop (64.9 percent), next to Hawaii’s second and first (-60.5 and -59.1 percent).
Louisiana’s second, New York’s 13th, 12th and 10th, New Jersey’s 10th and eighth, Florida’s 27th, 24th and 26th, Pennsylvania’s second and third, Virginia’s fourth, North Carolina’s first, Maryland’s seventh and Georgia’s fifth also saw declines of more than 50 percent.
Lower death rates in the District of Columbia were attributed in part to changes in demographics in the area – with an influx of wealthier individuals behind the decline.
In the southern parts of Texas, the shift was also attributed to more Hispanic people arriving in the area who have a lower risk of death from certain cancers.
Lung cancers are less common in the group, as they are historically less likely to smoke, as are colon cancers, which have previously been associated with the group having a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber.
Dr. Islami said, “The good news is that overall cancer death rates for both men and women have fallen in all congressional districts.
‘However, we saw significant differences in cancer mortality progress between congressional districts.
In addition, while the decline in cancer death rates has been most pronounced for black men, overall cancer deaths remain significantly higher among black people compared to other populations.
“We also found that the number of districts with the greatest relative declines in overall cancer death rates was greater among Hispanic people than among whites.
“But, paradoxically, Hispanic people also had the highest number of districts with no or the fewest relative declines in rates.”
It comes after a separate report found a “truly formidable” reduction of 33 percent in cancer death rates since 1991.