THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080461
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
The overall breast cancer death rate for American women continues to decline, the National Cancer Institute said Tuesday, attributing the decline to early detection and improved treatment.
Despite the overall decline, the death rate among black women who succumb to breast cancer continues to increase, although at a slower rate.
``These findings are good news, but not good enough,'' said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala.
From 1989 to 1993, the most recent period for which data are available, the breast cancer mortality rate for American women dropped 5 percent, from 27.5 per 100,000 women to 25.9 per 100,000.
The age-adjusted breast cancer mortality rate fell about 6 percent in white women and rose about 1 percent in black women. Between 1980 and 1989, the rates increased 3 percent in white women and 16 percent in black women.
The median age at death for white breast cancer patients is 68 years, and 62 years for black patients.
According to researchers, early detection alone can't account for the decline. ``Such changes in morality trends across a wide age range usually indicate improvements in medical interventions, and examination of stage-specific breast cancer incidence rates and survival rates suggests that both earlier detection and improved treatment are likely contributing to the recent declines,'' said Robert Tarone of the National Cancer Institute's Biostatistics Branch. by CNB