CDC hosted a telebriefing for Vital Signs on cancer and tobacco use.

Original title: “New Vital Signs Report - Cancer and Tobacco Use - Transcript”

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of cancer and cancer deaths. Cancers linked to tobacco use make up 40% of all cancers diagnosed.

Original title: “CDC Telebriefing: New Vital Signs Report - What can be done to help prevent smokers and nonsmokers from getting more than 12 cancers associated with tobacco use and secondhand smoke? - Media Advisory”

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend Shane Todd from complications of cancer at the age of 49. Shane was just 34 years old when he was diagnosed with throat cancer caused by the cigarette smoking he began at 18.

Original title: “Statement from CDC Director Tom Frieden on the passing of Shane Todd, former Tips From Former Smokers campaign participant - Media Statement”

The Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer (1975-2012) shows that death rates continued to decline for all cancers combined, as well as for most cancer sites for men and women of all major racial and ethnic populations.

Original title: “Annual Report to the Nation: Cancer death rates continue to decline - Press Release”

The number of cancer survivors - people who live after a cancer diagnosis - is expected to grow substantially over the next few decades as the U.S. population ages and as early detection methods and treatments continue to improve.

Original title: “CDC responds to broad challenges facing US cancer survivors - Press Release”

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered cancer cells originating in a common tapeworm may take root in people with weakened immune systems, causing cancer-like tumors. It is the first known case of a person becoming ill from cancer cells that arose in a parasite - in this case, Hymenolepis nana, the dwarf tapeworm.

Original title: “CDC researchers link cancer cells from parasite to human tumors - Press Release”

The first national study on Hispanic health risks and leading causes of death in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that similar to non-Hispanic whites (whites), the two leading causes of death in Hispanics are heart disease and cancer.

Original title: “Hispanics' health in the United States - Press Release”

Two out of 3 people diagnosed with cancer survive five years or more, according to a CDC study published in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Original title: “2 out of 3 people with invasive cancer are surviving 5 years or more - Press Release”

U.S. cancer survivors face significant economic burdens due to growing medical costs, missed work, and reduced productivity, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Original title: “US cancer survivors face significant economic burden - Press Release”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded $19.5 million to 26 academic institutions in 25 states to study how people and their communities can avoid or counter the risks for chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, obesity, and cancer.

Original title: “CDC awards $19.5 million to Prevention Research Centers nationwide - Press Release”

Working age adults with disabilities who do not get any aerobic physical activity are 50 percent more likely than their active peers to have a chronic disease such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, or heart disease, according to a Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Original title: “Inactivity Related to Chronic Disease in Adults with Disabilities - Press Release”

Working age adults with disabilities who get no aerobic physical activity are 50 percent more likely to have a chronic disease such as cancer, diabetes, stroke, or heart disease than their active peers, according to a Vital Signs report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half (47 percent) of adults with disabilities who are able to do aerobic physical activity do not get any.

Original title: “Nearly Half of Adults with Disabilities Get No Aerobic Physical Activity - Digital Press Kit”

Rates of invasive cancer cases among U.S. men and women dropped slightly from 459 per 100,000 persons in 2009 to 446 per 100,000 persons in 2010, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Original title: “U.S. invasive cancer rates slightly down from 2009 to 2010 - Press Release”

Fifty years ago today was a tipping point in recognizing and reversing the deadly epidemic caused by smoking. The first Surgeon General's report on smoking and health, released on January 11, 1964, made clear that smoking causes cancer.

Original title: “50th Anniversary of the Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health - Media Statement”

CDC cancer survivors are featured in the new exhibit, CANCER: Survivors in Focus, which highlights the public health impact of living with, through, and beyond cancer. The exhibit will be open June 17 through September 10, 2013. Several survivors will be available for pictures and interviews on Thursday, June 20.

Original title: “David J. Sencer CDC Museum unveils cancer survivors' photo exhibit - Media Advisory”

Death rates from all cancers combined for men, women, and children continued to decline in the United States between 2004 and 2008, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008. The overall rate of new cancer diagnoses, also known as incidence, among men decreased by an average of 0.6 percent per year between 2004 and 2008.

Original title: “Report to the nation finds continuing declines in cancer death rates since the early 1990s”

The CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) today issued the First Periodic Review of Scientific and Medical Evidence Related to Cancer for the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program. This first periodic review provides a summary of the current scientific and medical findings in the peer-reviewed literature about exposures resulting from the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and cancer studies.

Original title: “First World Trade Center Scientific and Medical Review Released”

Rates of death in the United States from all cancers for men and women continued to decline between 2003 and 2007, the most recent reporting period available, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The report also finds that the overall rate of new cancer diagnoses for men and women combined decreased an average of slightly less than 1 percent per year for the same period.

Original title: “Report to Nation Finds Continued Declines in Many Cancer Rates”

The number of cancer survivors in the United States increased to 11.7 million in 2007, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. There were 3 million cancer survivors in 1971 and 9.8 million in 2001.

Original title: “US Cancer Survivors Grows to Nearly 12 Million”

People who smoke certain U.S. cigarette brands are exposed to higher levels of cancer-causing tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), the major carcinogens and cancer-causing agents in tobacco products, than people who smoke some foreign cigarette brands.

Original title: “CDC Finds Higher Levels of Cancer Causing Chemicals from U.S. Brand Cigarettes”