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U.S. Cancer Death Rates Keep Falling: What the ACS 2025 Report Shows
The American Cancer Society's 2025 statistics report shows the cancer death rate has dropped sharply since 1991. Here's what's behind the progress — and the caveats.
A plain-language summary based on public reporting and trusted sources, linked below.
Please note: this page is educational only — it is not medical advice, and it does not speculate about anyone’s health beyond reliable public reporting. For questions about your own health, talk with your healthcare team.
What people see in the news
Each January, the American Cancer Society publishes its annual cancer statistics, and the headline is often encouraging: the U.S. cancer death rate keeps declining. The 2025 report continued that theme, while also flagging some concerning trends underneath the good news.
What it actually means
According to the American Cancer Society's 2025 report, the overall cancer death rate in the United States fell by about 34% from its peak in 1991 through 2022. The ACS estimates this decline has averted roughly 4.5 million deaths that would have occurred if the rate had stayed at its high point.
Why the drop? The report attributes continued progress to a mix of factors: reductions in smoking, earlier detection through screening, and improvements in treatment. The National Cancer Institute similarly describes screening and prevention as tools that reduce the chance of dying from certain cancers, and notes that avoiding tobacco is one of the most powerful things people can do — NCI states scientists believe cigarette smoking causes about 30% of all cancer deaths in the U.S.
The 2025 report was not all reassuring, however. The ACS noted that while deaths are falling, the number of new diagnoses is rising for several cancer types, particularly among women and younger adults. Incidence rates in women under 50 are now substantially higher than in men the same age. Falling death rates and rising incidence can happen at the same time — better treatment and earlier detection can lower mortality even as more cases are found.
What this does and doesn't change
- A falling death rate is a population-level statistic. It reflects broad progress, not a promise about any one person's outcome.
- The progress isn't evenly shared. Outcomes still differ across cancer types and communities, and the report highlights areas where more work is needed.
- The gains rest heavily on prevention and early detection. Screening and reduced smoking are doing real work here — which is a reason those tools remain worth using.
- Rising incidence in younger adults is a reminder that the story isn't finished.
If you want to focus on the prevention and screening side of that progress, our free screening check-up tool can help you see what applies to you.
Questions to ask a healthcare team
- Which screenings are recommended for someone my age?
- Are there prevention steps that would lower my risk?
- How do these statistics apply — or not — to my personal situation?
- Where can I find reliable, updated numbers?
Long-term declines in cancer deaths are genuinely good news, earned through decades of prevention, screening, and treatment advances. Free, plain-language cancer education helps more people understand what's driving the progress.
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Put the story in context
Prevention, possible warning signs, screening, and diagnosis
This story relates to Cancer statistics. The information below is general: it does not reveal anything else about a public person’s health, and not every point applies to every cancer. Personal advice depends on age, symptoms, family history, exposures, and medical history.
Prevention and risk reduction
Not every cancer can be prevented. Avoiding tobacco, protecting skin from ultraviolet radiation, limiting alcohol, staying active, and receiving recommended HPV or hepatitis B vaccination can lower the risk of certain cancers. A risk factor is not a prediction or a cause in one individual.
Symptoms and possible early signs
Possible signs vary and are often caused by conditions other than cancer. Changes worth discussing include a new lump, unexplained bleeding or weight loss, a persistent cough, lasting bowel or bladder changes, a changing skin spot, or symptoms that persist or worsen. Some early cancers cause no symptoms.
Screening and early detection
Screening looks for certain cancers before symptoms begin. Recommended tests exist only for some cancers and depend on age and risk. Screening can have benefits and harms; it is not the same as evaluating a new symptom, and there is no single routine scan or blood test that reliably screens for every cancer.
How cancer is diagnosed
Diagnosis may involve a history and exam, imaging, laboratory tests, and often a biopsy. Pathology can identify the cancer type and may test biomarkers that guide treatment. Symptoms, screening results, tumor markers, or online stories alone cannot confirm cancer.
Learn about this story’s cancer topic
A public story may encourage questions, but it should not be used to estimate your risk or choose testing. Contact a healthcare professional about a persistent or concerning change. Seek urgent care for severe or rapidly worsening symptoms.