Cancer prevention report finds US smoking rates continue to fall but HPV vaccination rates stall
The prevalence of people smoking fell from about 14% in 2019 to 11% in 2023, according to the report published Wednesday in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Cigarette smoking is known to significantly increase the risk of developing cancer. It's estimated to cause about 1 out of every 3 cancer deaths in the US.
'These latest findings are encouraging, mainly the reduction in smoking rates and screening for certain cancers, but it's clear urgent efforts are needed to address lagging cervical cancer prevention,' Dr. Priti Bandi, scientific director of cancer risk factors and screening surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study, said in a news release.
The prevalence of people being up-to-date on recommended cervical cancer screenings has dropped from 74.8% in 2019 to 73.4% in 2021 among ages 21 to 65, the report found, leaving more women at risk of not detecting disease early. The reported noted that the decrease is alarming as HPV vaccination rates have remained 'statistically unchanged' in recent years. In 2023, 61.4% of adolescents ages 13 to 17 were up-to-date for the HPV vaccination series, similar to 61.7% in 2021 and up from 54.2% in 2019.
HPV or human papillomavirus is a group of more than 150 viruses that can cause certain types of cancer. Spread primarily through sexual contact, most cases of HPV clear on their own within two years, but when the infection does not go away, health problems like cancer may occur – which is why preventing these infections with vaccination has been key.
The new report included data on US adults and their modifiable cancer risk factors in the years during and after the Covid-19 pandemic compared with the years prior to the pandemic. The data came from sources at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the CDC's National Health Interview Survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Immunization Survey-Teen.
It's estimated that nearly half – about 40% – of new cancer cases among US adults ages 30 and older could be attributed to preventable risk factors, such as cigarette smoking, excess body weight, an unhealthy diet, not exercising regularly, ultraviolet radiation exposure and cancer-causing infections like HPV.
'Despite historic reductions in smoking levels and improvements in breast and colorectal cancer screenings, including following the COVID-19 pandemic, obesity rates remain high and unchanged, physical activity levels remain suboptimal, and HPV vaccination levels have plateaued since 2021,' the American Cancer Society researchers wrote in the new report. They added that racial disparities in cancer rates and deaths persist as marginalized groups face barriers accessing healthcare.
Staying up-to-date on cancer screenings can further prevent thousands of additional cancer cases and deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
A separate report released Monday found that the rate of people dying from cancer has stayed on a steady decline in the US from 2001 through 2022. But when it comes to the rate of people being diagnosed with cancer, the incidence rate among men fell from 2001 through 2013 and then stabilized through 2021, while incidence among women increased slightly every year between 2003 and 2021.
Those trends were interrupted in 2020, when cancer incidence rates fell significantly, possibly because of disruptions in cancer screenings and medical care related to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer published in the journal Cancer. After 2020, they returned to expected levels.
Sustained declines in lung cancer have been a major contributor to the overall improvements in cancer death rates in the US. Fewer people in the US are using tobacco, helping lower incidence and death rates for smoking-related cancers like lung, bladder and larynx, the report said.
However, incidence rates are on the rise for several other cancers, including those linked with excess weight, such as pancreas and kidney cancers; uterine, breast and liver cancers among women; and colon and rectal cancers among adolescents and young adults.
CNN's Katherine Dillinger contributed to this report.
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