Prevention and screening were collectively responsible for averting 80% of breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer deaths between 1975 and 2020, according to a study brief published Dec. 5 in JAMA Oncology.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute analyzed how prevention, screening and treatment advances contributed to averting death from the five cancer types using mortality data and statistical models from the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network, according to a Dec. 5 news release from the NCI.
Here are 10 notes on the study's findings:
- Breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer were chosen for the study because strategies exist for their prevention, early detection or treatment and, in recent years, these cancers have made up about half of all new cancer diagnoses and deaths, the release said.
- Across all five cancers, 5.94 million deaths were averted between 1975 and 2020. Prevention and screening interventions were credited with averting 4.75 million deaths.
- Prevention and screening contributed to the most deaths averted for cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer. Treatment advances contributed to the most deaths averted for breast cancer.
- Of the 2.71 million possible breast cancer deaths, 1 million were averted. Treatment advances contributed to 75% of the deaths averted, and mammography screening contributed to the remaining 25%.
- Of the 9.2 million possible lung cancer deaths, 3.45 million were averted. Prevention efforts through tobacco control contributed to 98% of the deaths averted, and treatment advances accounted for the remaining 2%.
- Of the 370,000 possible cervical cancer deaths, 160,000 were averted through cervical cancer screening and the removal of precancerous lesions.
- Of the 3.45 million possible colorectal cancer deaths, 940,000 were averted. Screening and the removal of precancerous polyps contributed to 79% of the deaths averted, and treatment advances accounting for the remaining 21%.
- Of the 1.01 million possible prostate cancer deaths, 360,000 deaths were averted through screening. PSA testing contributed to 56% of the deaths averted, and treatment advances contributed to 44%.
- "Although many people may believe that treatment advances are the major driver of reductions in mortality … the surprise here is how much prevention and screening contribute to reductions in mortality," Katrina Goddard, PhD, co-lead investigator and director of NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, said in the release.
- Study authors noted that these findings may not apply to other cancer types and may not be generalizable to specific population groups. The study also did not factor in potential harms from interventions.
Read the full study brief here.