The latest annual Cancer Progress Report by the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) offers statistics and research trends. Even as overall survivorship and treatment have improved, rates of several cancers—notably breast and colorectal cancers—are rising among people younger than 50.

 

The 2024 report underscores the role that alcohol use and infections, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), play in cancer incidence. In fact, 40% of cancer cases in the United States are linked to preventable factors, such as smoking, excess body weight, drinking alcohol, poor diet (such as eating red meat), exposure to ultraviolet radiation and infection with HPV or hepatitis B or C.

 

The AACR notes that many people are not aware that alcohol is a carcinogen. In fact, alcohol is associated with six cancer types: esophageal, breast, colorectal, liver, stomach and some head and neck cancers. What’s more, drinking at an early age can increase your cancer risk later in life.

 

Similarly, despite robust evidence that the HPV vaccine lowers cervical cancer rates, only about 40% of youth ages 9 to 17 had at least one dose of the vaccine in 2022 (see Basics). Meanwhile, cervical cancer increased 2.5% a year between 2012 and 2019 among women ages 30 to 34.

 

The research outlook was more hopeful. “The future of cancer science and medicine is very promising,” said AACR president Patricia M. LoRusso, DO, PhD. “Cancer diagnostics are becoming more sophisticated. New technologies are helping us study tumors at a cellular level. Artificial intelligence–based approaches are beginning to transform cancer detection, diagnosis, clinical decision-making and treatment response monitoring. These advances will result in improved patient care.”