Significant impact made in reduction of cancer related deaths

In a new report, the American Cancer Society finds cancer-related deaths in the U.S. are dropping faster than ever before. During the last year was the largest-ever single year drop of 2.2 percent.

Cancer mortality rates have dropped 29 percent since 1991, with almost three million lives saved during that time.

The report finds death rates saw their biggest drop yet from 2016 to 2017.

Northwestern University lung cancer expert Dr. Jyoti Patel said significant end roads also have been made in immunotherapy for patients with lung cancer.

"We have better therapies for our patients and we can say with confidence, patients are living longer and better than ever before," said Patel. "We now know that subsets of patients with lung cancer may have targetable mutations for which therapies are readily available that lead to longer periods of disease control.”

Significant impacts have been made in childhood cancers, leukemia and other blood cancers, lymphomas and now in lung cancer and other solid tumors.

Breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers have seen smaller drops.