The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer shows
the U.S. is making progress in controlling some tumors, but
rates of human papillomavirus–related cancers remain stubbornly
high. Overall, the report shows lower cancer rates in the U.S.
among all genders and racial and ethnic groups for the most
common cancers, including lung, colon, anal, breast and
prostate. But rates of HPV-related cancers, like cervical
cancer, are elevated despite the fact that a vaccine exists to
prevent the viral infection that can trigger the disease. “It’s
hard not to be happy that the death rates of these major cancers
are going down, but I think the HPV issue is pressing. “If you
can’t get individuals to get vaccinated—because getting cancer
is horrible, then there has to be an economic side to this
because treating people with these cancers is expensive,” says
Dr. Joanne Mortimer, director of the Women’s Cancer Program at
the City of Hope cancer center in Los Angeles. ”I think the
biggest challenge we face is figuring