On the eve of the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, there is promising news about the progress in cancer research. The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, released this afternoon by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that death rates in the United States from all cancers continued to decline between 2003 and 2007. The report also found that the overall rate of new cancer diagnoses for men and women combined decreased an average of slightly less than 1 percent per year for the same period.

Harold E. Varmus, M.D., director of the NCI, will address Annual Meeting attendees during the Opening Plenary session on Sunday, April 3 at 9 a.m. ET.

"The AACR is extremely pleased to learn of this remarkable progress against cancer as cancer researchers, clinicians, epidemiologists, advocates and other health care professionals from the United States and around the world convene in Orlando, Fla., on April 2 for the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "It is our hope that the breakthroughs and new ideas shared at our Annual Meeting, and the collaborations that ensue, will continue to save lives and accelerate progress in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer."

The report was compiled by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the NCI, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society.

Source: AACR