Cancer Death Rates in US Drop Significantly With Help of Prevention Measures Including Vaccinations

    By Kathleen Berger, Executive Producer for Science and Technology

    Washington University’s gynecologic oncologist and surgeon Andrea Hagemann, MD, treats cancer patients at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. The fight against cancer is overall experiencing success, as cancer death rates have fallen 33% since 1991, 32 years ago.

    “The cancer rates being down primarily reflect two things: decreased smoking. So, actually smoking cessation is very, very cancer preventive,” said Hagemann. “We also know that HPV vaccine, or the human papillomavirus vaccine uptake has also contributed to decreased cancer rates.”

    The HPV vaccine has been available in the U.S. for about 17 years.

    “Originally, this was implemented in girls, but our studies have now come to involve boys and girls,” she said. “And so, since giving HPV vaccine to the younger population, this has dramatically decreased the rates of cervical dysplasia, precancer cells of the cervix and cervical cancer.”

    It can help prevent other cancers too, in women and men.

    The HPV vaccine administered, starting at age 11 for boys and girls, protects against cancers that come from HPV. So that includes head and neck cancers, that includes anal cancers, that includes cervical cancers, vaginal and vulvar cancers,” said Hagemann. “The virus causes over 90% of cervical cancers and 90% of all the squamous cell cancers that we see in treating the head and neck or anus or the vulva. So, if we can have a vaccine that prevents exposure and prevents HPV infection in people that kind of lies dormant, then it’s so protective.”

    Hagemann said younger adults may also benefit from the vaccine if they were not previously vaccinated, which should be a conversation with a physician.

    She said another routine shot, the Hepatitis B vaccination, is another that can help battle cancer.

    “It’s a vaccine against hepatitis, being a cause of liver cancer. So, we have a precedent of vaccinations helping to decrease liver cancers.”

    Cancer screenings for early detection, such as colonoscopies and mammograms, also contribute to the decline of cancer deaths.

    “We know that the earlier we find a cancer, the better we are at curing it.”

    Advancements through research at institutions like Washington University School of Medicine for new targeted cancer therapies play a role and will continue to help battle cancer, as well as advancements in predictive screening tools for cancer risk.

    “We’ve had, over the past 10 years, increase access to genetic testing to screen for mutations that are high risk for certain cancers such as ovarian cancer. About 25% of them are caused by high-risk hereditary mutations like the breast cancer gene and others that can lead to earlier onset cancer,” she explained. “And so, if we can find those mutations before a cancer develops, we can do preventive things to help keep that cancer from coming.”