That is the discovery of a CDC report released this month. Mortality rates fell 24% between 2001 and 2021. Specifically, the cancer mortality rate among youth ages 0 to 19 was 2.75 per 100,000 in 2001, but decreased to 2.10 per 100,000 in 2021.
The analysis uses data including (i) causes of death data from the National Center for Health Statistics 1999-2020, and (ii) population information from the US Census. Below are some key figures and a further summary detailed.
Cancer mortality in young people continued to decline during the period 2001-2021, building on the advances of the previous three decades (1-4). The overall cancer death rate fell by a quarter between 2001 and 2021, with a larger percentage decline in women (30%) than men (19%). All 5-year-old age groups experienced declines between 2001 and 2011, but only the youngest age groups (0 to 4 and 5 to 9 years) experienced significant declines between 2011 and 2021. White, Black, and Hispanic youth had rates similar cancer mortality rates in 2001 and 2011. However, the rate for white youth continued to decline from 2011 to 2021, while the rates for black and Hispanic youth remained stable. As such, in 2021, the rate for white youth was significantly lower than that of black and Hispanic youth. Leukemia had been the most common type of cancer causing death among young people in 2001, but it decreased by 47% during the period. Despite an 11% decline in the second half of the period, brain cancer was the leading cancer killer among young people in 2021. Death rates from bone and joint cancer increased from 2011 to 2021.
Unfortunately, the report does not analyze the causes of this decline.
