News Categories
Resources For Living
Mesothelioma Forum
Legal Help Blog
Find a Doctor Near You
About Mesothelioma
Latest News
- Wife Vows to Continue to Fight for Mesothelioma Cu...
- Earlier Detection of Mesothelioma Possible from Te...
- LIVESTRONG Brings Countries Together for Fight Aga...
- Mesothelioma Victim Raises Awareness
- Photographer Uses Art to Get the Word Out on Mesot...
- New Test for Early Diagnosis of Mesothelioma
- Clinical Trials Key to Mesothelioma Treatment Brea...
- Father Upset Over Lack of Government Control of As...
- Early Detection is the Key to Increased Life Expec...
- Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation Receives ...
News Archives
- April 2007
- May 2007
- June 2007
- July 2007
- August 2007
- September 2007
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- May 2008
- June 2008
- July 2008
- August 2008
- September 2008
- October 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
- February 2009
- March 2009
- April 2009
- May 2009
- June 2009
- July 2009
- August 2009
- September 2009
- October 2009
- November 2009
- December 2009
- January 2010
- February 2010
- March 2010
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Mark Twain popularized the saying about the three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.The statistics frequently cited to criticize progress in the war on cancer mask the significant progress that has been made on that front, Wall Street Journal columnist Carl Bialik notes in a recent article. Overall mortality rates — showing little change in cancer death rates since the 1950s — conceal promising trends in recent decades, Bialik writes.
In the last few years, cancer mortality rates have begun to decline from the overall peaks of the 1990s. Cancer victims are dying at older ages, meaning more years of their lives are preserved, Bialik writes. And individuals born since 1925 have had lower cancer mortality rates at every age compared with individuals born before that year, reflecting reductions in smoking and medical advances in early detection of cancer.
Case in point: A recent Oxford University study identifying a signature protein in fluid around the lungs associated with mesothelioma may allow doctors to diagnose the asbestos-related cancer at an earlier stage and improve patients prognosis, the researchers say.
Progress among younger cancer patients has been particularly notable. Cancer mortality rates for Americans in their 40s born between 1955 and 1964 declined by 35 percent compared to Americans at the same age born three decades earlier.
Labels: Research News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 12:01 PM
