National Cancer Institute Reports on progress against cancer. (EH update).

The Cancer Progress Report, released in December 2001 by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the first in a series designed to make scientific information on cancer more accessible and understandable. The new report succinctly describes and illustrates the nation's progress in reducing the cancer burden across the full cancer continuum, from prevention through the impact of deaths from cancer.

"Overall, Cancer Progress Report 2001 paints a positive picture," said Barbara Rimer, director of NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS). "The rates of new cancers and of cancer deaths are falling overall; factors are the growing adoption of state-of-the-art cancer treatments, reduced cigarette smoking by adults, and increased screenings for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. Both smoking and getting screened for cancer are behaviors over which individuals have control."

But the report also illustrates some areas in which the nation is not making progress or is losing ground. For example, greater efforts are needed to reduce tobacco use, especially among youth. Rising rates of some cancers, such as esophageal cancer and melanoma skin cancer, must be addressed. Other areas that need attention include increased overweight and obesity, inadequate protection of the skin from sunlight, and unexplained cancer-related health disparities between some subgroups in the U.S. population.

Cancer Progress Report 2001 tells the nation where we are now and identifies research, policy, and practice gaps. The public can use the report to better understand the nature of cancer and the results of strategies to fight it. Policy makers can review past efforts and plan future ones, and researchers, clinicians, and public-health organizations can focus on the gaps and opportunities identified to pave the way to future progress against cancer.

Readers can order free copies of the report by calling (800) 4-CANCER and requesting Cancer Progress Report 2001 (T905). A stand-alone version of the executive summary, Cancer Progress Report 2001: Highlights (T983) also is available. Online, readers can find the report, with links to additional information, at <http://progressreport.cancer.gov>. This version will be updated every six to 12 months, and the print version will be revised and published every two years. A CD-ROM version will be available in 2002.