Cancer Death Rates Drop 20 Percent in Last Two Decades

Peak was in 1991

The death rate from cancer in the United States has dropped dramatically in the last two decades, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.

American cancer death rates have risen consistently since the 1900s; they peaked in 1991 at 215.1 deaths per 100,000 in the population. The 2009 death rate, which just became available, is 173.1 per 100,000. That's a 20% decline in cancer death rates from 1991.

The report also includes grim news. The ACS estimates 1.6 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer and more than 580,000 will die of cancer in 2013. As has been the case for decades, only cardiovascular disease will kill more Americans.