More efforts needed to reduce cancer mortality, report finds

Experts say primary care physicians should focus on proven interventions, such as smoking cessation, in guiding their patients toward a healthier way of life.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. April 25, 2005.

Of the estimated 500,000 deaths expected from cancer this year, more than half are preventable, according to a March report issued by the American Cancer Society.

And experts say that primary care physicians play a key role in helping patients make necessary lifestyle changes and urging them to undergo screening tests. Stepping up these efforts could make a significant impact on this number.

"We have the tools to fight the disease, and primary care physicians are critical," said Vilma Cokkinides, PhD, MSPH, author of "Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts and Figures, 2005."

The report found that some factors, such as smoking rates, have improved, but still remain unacceptably high if the cancer society's goal of reducing by 50% the age-adjusted cancer mortality rates by 2015 is to be accomplished. Increases in obesity and overweight are also making this marker more difficult to achieve.

"We are making progress," said Richard C. Wender, MD, ACS first vice president. "But at midpoint, we are not where we should be."

Part of the reason is that significant barriers persist that undermine physicians' ability to successfully guide people toward needed lifestyle changes, experts say.

These experts advocate that doctors focus on proven interventions, such as promoting smoking cessation, in light of the fact that resources and time are limited.

American Medical Association policy encourages physicians to incorporate smoking cessation into their practices, and studies long have supported the idea that physician advice in this area can be effective.