The overall death rates and incidence rates for most cancers stabilized or declined over the last 10 years, according to a new report released Wednesday that focuses on breast cancer.

An estimated 159,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with some type of cancer this year, and 72,700 will die of it, according to Canadian Cancer Statistics 2007.

Since cancer is primarily a disease of aging and Canada's population is growing and living longer, the total number of cancer cases will increase.

The report was prepared through a collaboration of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Statistics Canada, provincial and territorial cancer registries, as well as cancer researchers at universities and provincial cancer agencies.

While death rates for all types of cancer stabilized or decreased, lung cancer in women is increasing. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of death from cancer in both men and women.

"Men's lung cancer rates have been going down because men changed their habits much earlier than women," said Heather Chappell, a senior manager at the Canadian Cancer Society. "It takes about 20 to 30 years to see the difference in the incidence and death rates from lung cancer from smoking habits."

Among men, the incidence is increasing for melanoma, thyroid and liver cancer. Thyroid cancer is also increasing among women, but to a lesser extent than lung cancer.

Since death rates from thyroid cancer are not increasing, it's thought that more of the cancers are being detected with better screening techniques and needle biopsies.

The 2007 report includes a special analysis of breast cancer — the most common cancer in women, both in Canada and worldwide. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.

Breast cancer screening pays off

Although an estimated 22,300 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, the rate of new cases in women over age 40 seems to be stabilizing or dropping.

The age-standardized breast cancer death rate for Canadian females — the number of people per 100,000 who are diagnosed or die of the disease —  has dropped by 25 per cent since 1985.

The downward trend is exciting, Chappell said. "It makes us feel like all the effort we've been putting towards screening and better treatments are starting to pay off."

The rate of new breast cancers in 2003 was also the lowest since the late 1980s.

Mammogram a 'lifesaver'

Progress is attributed to better screening, mammography and advances in treatments such as tamoxifen, which help prevent recurrence, said Heather Logan, director of cancer control policy at the society.

A doctor urged Jane Hawley, 57, to get a mammogram, which she had wanted to put off several months to a more convenient time. Within two weeks, she had been diagnosed, had her small lump removed and began treatment.

Hawley, a special education teacher in Toronto, tells friends who are reluctant to get a mammogram: "Don't be stupid."

"Definitely go for your yearly physical and your mammogram for sure. For the little bit of inconvenience that it is, it's a lifesaver," said Hawley, who has been clear of cancer for four years.

Part of the decline may also be linked to the dramatic drop in the number of women taking hormone replacement therapy, after a study in 2003 concluded the therapy increased the risk of breast cancer and heart attack among older women.

The breast cancer section includes four recommendations to ensure the progress continues:

• Research to identify more modifiable risk factors, such as occupational and environmental exposure to cancer-causing substances, and vitamin D.
• More research on genetic risk factors.
• Increased participation in breast-screening programs among women aged 50 to 69.
• Continued use of the best treatment options combined with testing of new treatments.

It's hoped that last year's report, which recommended improvements in screening for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and cervical cancer, will help to reduce the number of cases for those diseases, Chappell said.

With files from the Canadian Press