Almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer. Do you know who is affected, what causes various types of cancers, or the survival rates? The following is a summary of the latest information from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help increase your awareness. For more information, visit www.cancer.org

What is Cancer?

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. If the spread is not controlled, it can result in death.

What Causes Cancer?

Cancer is caused by both external factors (tobacco use, chemicals, radiation, and infectious organisms) and internal factors (inherited mutations, hormones, immune conditions, and mutations that occur from metabolism). These causal factors may act together or in sequence to initiate or promote the onset of the disease.

Who is at Risk of Developing Cancer?

Anyone can develop cancer, but the occurrence of cancer increased as people age – with most cases affecting adults beginning in middle age. About 76% of all cancers are diagnosed at age 55 and older.

Lifetime risk refers to the probability that an individual will develop or die from cancer over the course of a lifetime; In the US, the lifetime risk of developing cancer is 1 in 2 for men and 1 in 3 for women.

Relative risk measures the strength of the relationship between various risk factors and a particular cancer. For example, make smokers are about 20 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers; women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer have about a 2-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Statistics

• Cancer is the 2 nd leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease.

• This year 563,700 Americans are expected to die of cancer (more than 1,500 people per day). In the US, cancer causes 1 of every 4 deaths.

• Estimated new number of cancer cases in 2004: 1,368,030 in the U.S.; 22,720 in MN.

• Compared to 45 countries around the world, the US has the 10 th highest overall cancer rate in females and has the 22 nd highest cancer rate in males. The US also has the highest rate of lung cancer among females.

• The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined is 63%, with rates varying greatly by cancer type and stage at diagnosis.

Common Cancers

• Breast – an estimated 215,990 new cases of invasive breast cancer with 40,580 deaths are expected to occur in the US during 2004; it’s the most frequently diagnosed non-skin cancer in women. Early detection and treatment are key to improved survival rates.

• Signs & Symptoms – earliest sign is an abnormality appearing on a mammogram before it can be felt by the woman or her health care provider. When breast cancer has grown to the point where physical symptoms exist, they may include a breast lump, thickening, swelling, distortion, or tenderness; skin irritation or dimpling; and nipple pain, scaliness, ulceration, retraction, or spontaneous discharge.

• Risk Factors – personal or family history of breast cancer, long menstrual history (menstrual periods starting early and ending late in life), obesity after menopause, recent use of oral contraceptives, post-menopausal HRT, never having children or having one’s first child after age 30, or consumption of one or more alcoholic beverages per day increases the risk. Breastfeeding, moderate or vigorous physical activity, and maintaining a healthy body weight are all associated with lower risk.

• Lung and Bronchus – an estimated 173,770 new cases with 160,440 deaths are expected to occur in the US in 2004, accounting for about 13% of cancer diagnoses and 28% of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Unfortunately, early detection has not yet been demonstrated to improve survival.

• Signs & Symptoms – symptoms may include persistent cough, sputum streaked with blood, chest pain, and recurring pneumonia or bronchitis.

• Risk Factors – cigarette smoking is by far the most important risk factor in developing lung cancer. Other risks include occupational or environmental exposures to substances such as arsenic; some organic chemicals; radon and asbestos; radiation exposure from occupational, medical, and environmental sources; air pollution; tuberculosis; and for nonsmokers – environmental tobacco smoke.

• Ovary – an estimated 25,580 new cases with 16,090 deaths are expected to occur in the US in 2004. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

• Signs & Symptoms – the most common sign is enlargement of the abdomen (caused by accumulation of fluid). Abnormal vaginal bleeding is rarely a symptom. In women over 40, vague digestive disturbances that persist and can’t be explained by other causes may indicate the need for evaluation for ovarian cancer.

• Risk Factors – risk for ovarian cancer increases with age and peaks in the late 70s, with an increased death rate associated with increased body weight. Women who never had children are more likely to develop ovarian cancer than those who have. Pregnancy, tubal ligation, and the use of oral contraceptives appear to reduce the risk of developing it, but the use of estrogen as HRT for post-menopausal women increases risk.

• Prostate – an estimated 230,110 new cases with 29,900 deaths (2 nd leading cause of cancer death in men) are expected to occur in the US in 2004. Prostate cancer rates remain significantly higher in African American men than in white men. Early detection with a PSA blood test improves survival rates.

• Signs & Symptoms – early prostate cancer has no symptoms; as the disease advances, individuals may experience weak or interrupted urine flow; inability to urinate; the need to urinate frequently, especially at night; blood in the urine; pain or burning on urination; or continual pain in lower back, pelvis, or upper thighs.

• Risk Factors – the only well-established risk factors are age, ethnicity, and family history of the disease. More than 70% of all cases are diagnosed in men over age 65; the disease is common in North America and northwestern Europe and is rare in Asia and South America. It also appears the risk of dying from prostate cancer increases with increased body weight.

• Skin – more than 1 million cases of basal cell or squamous cell cancers occur annually; most, but not all, of these forms of skin cancer are highly curable. The most serious form is melanoma – expected to be diagnosed in about 55,100 persons in the US in 2004. An estimated 10,250 deaths (7,910 from melanoma and 2,340 from other forms) will occur this year. Melanoma affects whites at a rate 10 times greater than African Americans.

• Signs & Symptoms – any change on the skin, such as a new spot or one that changes in size, shape or color; a sore that doesn’t heal; a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot on the skin that changes; scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule; spread of pigmentation beyond its border; and a change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain.

• Risk Factors – risks vary for different types of skin cancer. For melanoma, a major risk factor includes a prior melanoma, one or more family members having melanoma, and moles (especially if there are many, or if they are unusual or large). Other risk factors for all types include sun sensitivity (sunburn easily, difficulty tanning, natural blonde or red hair color); history of excessive sun exposure, including sunburns; exposure to tanning booths; past history of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers; and occupational exposure to coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds, or radium.

• Testicular – the most common cancer among men between the ages of 15 and 35 but it can strike any male at any time. There are approximately 7500 new cases each year in the United States with about 350 deaths. Testicular cancer is almost always curable if it is found early. Testicular cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surveillance, or a combination of these treatments

• Signs & Symptoms – Most testicular cancers are found by men themselves, either as a painless lump, a hardening or change in size of the testicle, or pain in the testicle. Some other warning signs include: any enlargement of a testicle; a significant shrinking of a testicle; a change in the consistency of a testicle (hardness); a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum; a dull ache in the lower abdomen or in the groin; a sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum; pain or discomfort in a testicle or in the scrotum; enlargement or tenderness of the breasts.

• Risk Factors - Children born with an undescended testicle have an increased risk of getting testicular cancer regardless of whether surgery is done to correct the problem. However, the surgery should still be done to preserve fertility.

Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2004, American Cancer Society