5 cancers where screening and prevention have helped reduce death rates

Cancer was considered one of the deadly diseases that had no cure, but, improvements in

cancer prevention

and screening over the last few years have caused more deaths than ever. With over 45 years of research and treatment advances, combined, it has been noted that 5 types of

cancer screening

can help save lives.
A study led by the researchers at the National Institute of Health was published in

JAMA Oncology

on December 5 and it mentioned the deaths that were averted due to early screening tests. The model study looked at deaths that were averted in breast, lung, cervical, prostate, and colorectal because of prevention, screening, and treatment advances.
The study focused on these 5 cancers and it contributed to the major common cause of cancer death. These five cancers also have established their risks, prevention, early detection, and treatment methods for cure.
“Eight out of 10 deaths from these five cancers that were averted over the past 45 years were due to advances in prevention and screening,” quoted co-lead investigator of the study, Katrina A.B. Goddard. the director of NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population sciences.

She stressed that people just believe in the point that the treatment has advanced and that’s why there is a reduction in the mortality from these 5 cancers, but the surprise is how much prevention and screening have contributed to reductions in mortality.
The study used statistical models and cancer mortality data to estimate the relative contributions of prevention, screening, and treatment advances to deaths averted from breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers between the years 1975 and 2020.

The researchers explained how the study will help understand which strategy has been the most effective in reducing cancer deaths and how they can continue building on that momentum to decrease the deaths caused by cancer.
The five cancer deaths that amounted to millions, were reduced drastically over the years from 1975 to 2020 due to the screenings and prevention methods. It noted that –
1. Of 2.71 million people, 1.71 million people averted death due to mammography screening.

2. Prevention through tobacco accounted to avert the death of 3.45 million people due to

lung cancer

.

3. 1,60,000 deaths averted out of 3,70,000 through Pap and removal of precancerous lesions in cervical cancers.

4. 9,40,000 deaths averted out of 3.45 million due to screening and removal of precancerous polyps in colorectal cancers.

5. In

prostate cancer

, 3,60,000 deaths were averted of the 1.01 million due to the screening and testing methods.

The authors also pointed out that more recent prevention and screening strategies, such as

HPV vaccination

and lung cancer screening, were not in wide use during the study period and that they could further help in reducing cancer death rates.