Arr, scurvey deaths 'mongst wee lads 'n lasses be down 24% in t' past reckon o' two decades, says CDC. 'Tis thanks to better remedies, mateys!
2023-11-19
Deaths 'mongst ye scallywags fightin' youth cancer be on th' decline, as per data from th' Centers fer Disease Control and Prevention. Death rates plummeted by 24% betwixt 2001 and 2021. Yo ho ho, good news indeed!
Deaths among young cancer patients have been decreasing, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Center of Health Statistics. In 2001, the overall cancer mortality rate for people under 20 years old was 2.75 per 100,000, resulting in 2,226 deaths. However, in 2021, the mortality rate dropped to 2.10 deaths per 100,000, with a total of 1,722 deaths, marking a 24% decrease over two decades. The decline was most significant among younger age groups, with a 16% decrease in mortality rate for children aged 4 and younger and a 21% decrease for those aged 5 to 9. Additionally, over the entire two decades, young females experienced a steeper decline in cancer mortality (30%) compared to males (19%). The report also highlighted disparities in cancer death rates among different races and ethnicities, with White children and teens having a 16% lower mortality rate than Black and Hispanic groups in 2021. The deadliest type of cancer for kids and teens in 2021 was brain cancer, while leukemia was the leading cause of cancer death in young people in 2001, but its mortality rate has significantly decreased by 47% as of 2021. Factors contributing to the declining mortality rates include better and earlier screening, improved treatments, such as less invasive surgical approaches and advanced chemotherapy regimens, and the use of immunotherapies. However, there was a slight increase in mortality rates between 2019 and 2020, possibly due to delays in screenings and treatment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's important to note that childhood cancer cases represent a small fraction of all cancer cases, with approximately 15,000 children and teens diagnosed each year compared to 1.6 million across all age groups.