US cancer deaths drop 33% since 1991, new report says

The first lady, Jill Biden, speaks at a cancer center in San Francisco to highlight the Biden administration's ‘cancer moonshot’ in October 2022. Photograph: Getty Images

American cancer deaths have declined by 33% since 1991, according to a new report – saving an estimated 3.8m lives.

The report by the American Cancer Society attributed the three-decade trend largely to better early detection, lower rates of smoking, and improvements in treatment. Researchers also credited the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.