The number of new cancer cases in the U.S. is expected to top 2 million for the first time in 2024, based on new research that also points to shifting age patterns among cancer patients and a troubling increase in overall cancer incidence among people younger than 50 .

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The American Cancer Society’s latest statistical report, released on Wednesday, says the country’s cancer mortality rate fell by 33% from 1991 through 2021. That decrease equates to an estimated 4.1 million fewer cancer deaths, which researchers attribute to improvements in disease management and detection, along with reductions in smoking.

Yet the research also warns that increases in some common cancers threaten this progress. The report notes the incidence rate for female breast cancer, for example, has risen by about 0.6% per year since the mid-2000s, and that more than 313,000 new breast cancer cases overall are projected for 2024. Prostate cancer incidence increased by about 3% per year after experiencing a nearly 40% drop from 2007 to 2014.

Increases in endometrial and pancreatic cancers, among others, also have raised concerns. Overall, researchers project 2,001,140 new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths will occur in the U.S. in 2024.

Projected caseloads by state range........

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