Data show cancer death rates in youth continued to decline through 2021

Cancer death rates in youth ages 0 to 19 years continued to decline during 2001 to 2021, according to a November data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Sally C. Curtin, and Robert N. Anderson, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, present trends in cancer death rates for 2001 to 2021 for youth ages 0 to 19 years, by age and for White, Black, and Hispanic youth.

The researchers found that the cancer death rate for youth ages 0 to 19 years in the United States decreased 24 percent from 2001 to 2021, from 2.75 to 2.10 per 100,000. Decreases in cancer death rates were seen for all age groups between 2001 and 2011 (0 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 14, and 15 to 19), but declines through 2021 were only seen for rates among those ages 0 to 4 and 5 to 9.

Between 2001 and 2011, declines in cancer death rates were seen for Black non-Hispanic, White non-Hispanic (White), and Hispanic youth; the decline continued through 2021 for white youth only. The most common cancer causing death in youth in 2021 was brain cancer, with a higher rate than that for leukemia and bone and articular cartilage cancer (0.59 versus 0.48 and 0.25, respectively, per 100,000 youth).

"The overall cancer death rate declined by one-fourth during 2001 to 2021, with a greater percentage decline for females (30 percent) than males (19 percent)," the authors write.