Posted: January 1, 2017

Recently published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians is a summary of the remarkable results of improved cancer care in the United States from 1991-2014.  Click here for the article.   The authors cite a 25% reduction in cancer-specific mortality.  They cite several possible reasons.  Perhaps more interesting is the increased death rate for two diseases: cancer of the liver and cancer of the uterus.  The reasons for these are not hard to see: Hepatitis C for liver cancer and obesity for cancer of the uterus.  We are in the middle of an epidemic for each.   The authors further speculate that the remarkable reduction in the number of uninsured Americans is likely to result in a further dramatic fall in cancer mortality, as more and more Americans enter the mainstream health-care system, enjoy cancer screenings and have a doctor to visit at the first sign of trouble.  Sadly, the Presidential election is likely to make this last point moot.