More Than 18 Million Cancer Survivors Living in U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2022

FRIDAY, June 24, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- More than 18 million U.S. cancer survivors were alive as of Jan. 1, 2022, according to a report published online June 23 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Kimberly D. Miller, M.P.H., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues estimated cancer prevalence using incidence and survival data in the United States to assist the public health community.

The researchers note that as of Jan. 1, 2022, more than 18 million Americans (8.3 million males and 9.7 million females) with a history of cancer were alive. The three most prevalent cancers for men were prostate, melanoma of the skin, and colon and rectum, while for women, the most prevalent cancers were breast, uterine corpus, and thyroid. Fifty-three percent of survivors were diagnosed within the past 10 years; 67 percent were aged 65 years or older. Racial disparities in treatment included proctectomy or proctocolectomy for stage 1 rectal cancer (received by 41 and 66 percent of Black and White patients, respectively) and surgical receipt for non-small cell lung cancer (49 percent for stages I to II and 16 percent for stage III versus 55 percent for stages I to II and 22 percent for stage III for Black and White patients, respectively). For most cancers, Black patients were less likely to be diagnosed with stage I disease, with large disparities seen for female breast (53 versus 68 percent) and endometrial (59 versus 73 percent) cancers.

"More evidence-based strategies and equitable access to available resources are needed to mitigate disparities for communities of color," Miller said in a statement.

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