Cancer rates

In class today someone asked about cancer incidents and deaths over time. Here are several telling charts from the NIH:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20811/figure/A5099/?report=objectonly

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20811/figure/A5100/?report=objectonly

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20811/figure/A5101/?report=objectonly

As you can see from this data, death rates from stomach cancer have decreased over time, likely due to improved food practices (refrigeration, food storage and handling). On the other hand, lung cancer deaths increased dramatically in the 20th century, peaking around 1990. Other cancer rates have fluctuated somewhat.

Cheers,
MSS