Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and it is estimated that 553,400 Americans will die from cancer in 2001. Early detection can extend life, reduce treatment and improve quality of life for cancer patients. The American Cancer Society estimates that relative survival for breast, tongue, mouth, colon, rectum, cervix, prostate, testis and melanoma cancers would increase from 80 percent to 95 percent if all Americans participated in regular cancer screenings.

Although mortality rates are declining, breast cancer still ranks second among cancer deaths in women. Early detection and advances in treatment are the most likely reasons that women's chances against breast cancer have

improved.

As Pap screening has become more prevalent, pre-invasive lesions of the cervix are detected far more frequently than invasive cancer and incidence rates have decreased steadily over the past several decades. During 1993-1997, the incidence rate in black women (11.4 per 100,000) was higher than the rate in white women (7.1 per 100,000). Mortality rates have also declined sharply over the past several decades.

Despite its rarity, cancer is the chief cause of death by disease in children 1 - 14. Roughly one-third of those cancer deaths are from leukemia.

Colorectal cancers are the third most prevalent cancers in both men and women and account for about 10 percent of cancer deaths. During the past 20 years, mortality rates have declined and research suggests that may be due to increased screening and polyp removal, preventing progression of polyps to invasive cancers.

Incidence rates of cancer of the body of the uterus, usually of the endometrium or lining of the uterus, are higher among white women (22.6 per 100,000) than among black women (15.3 per 100,000). Although the incidence rates are higher among white women, the relationship is reversed for mortality rates - black women have mortality rates that are nearly twice as high as rates among white women.

Although often thought of as primarily a childhood disease, leukemia is expected to be diagnosed in many more adults (28,800) than children (2,700) this year. Acute lymphocytic leukemia accounts for approximately 2,000 of the leukemia cases among children. In adults, the most common types are acute myeloid (approximately 10,000 cases) and chronic lymphocytic (approximately 8,100 cases).

Lung and bronchus cancers are the leading cause of cancer death among men and women. This type of cancer accounts for 13 percent of all cancer diagnoses and cause 28 percent of all cancer deaths annually. These numbers are declining significantly for men, who have a higher incidence rate, but are not declining for women. Although the incidence rate has leveled off for women in recent years, mortality continues to increase, but at a slower pace. The changes in these rates are most likely a result of decreased smoking during the past 30 years. Decreases in smoking patterns for women lag behind those of men.

Since the early 1970s, incidence rates for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have nearly doubled, although during the 1990s the rate of new cases appeared to slow. Incidence rates for Hodgkin's disease have declined somewhat since the early 1970s, particularly among the elderly.

Since 1981, the rates of oral cancers have declined. Men are more than twice as likely as women to develop oral cancers and incidence is greatest in men who are older than 40.

Ovarian cancer makes up 4 percent of all cancers among women and ranks second among gynecologic cancers. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

During the past 25 years, rates of pancreatic cancer and mortality from the disease have declined slowly but consistently in men. A slight decline in incidence rates among women began in the mid-1980s, while the mortality rate has remained relatively constant.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Mortality and incidence rates remain significantly higher in black men than in white men. Between 1988 and 1992, prostate cancer incidence rates increased dramatically, due to the increased use of the prostate-specific antigen blood test which allowed earlier diagnosis in men without any symptoms. Prostate cancer incidence rates subsequently declined and have leveled off.

Although it is estimated that there will be more than one million cases of skin cancer in 2001, most of the occurrences will be highly curable basal cell or squamous cell cancers. Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is expected to be diagnosed in about 51,400 persons in 2001. These incidence rates are more than 10 times higher in whites than in blacks. It is estimated that of the 9,800 deaths in 2001, 7,800 will be caused by melanoma and 2,000 will be caused by other skin cancers.