U.S. cancer deaths fell 2 percent annually between 2002 and 2004, with significant declines in lung, prostate and colorectal cancers among men and breast and colon cancer among women, Reuters reported Oct. 15.

The lung-cancer rate continued to rise among women, however, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.

"The significant decline in cancer death rates demonstrates important progress in the fight against cancer that has been achieved through effective tobacco control, screening, early detection, and appropriate treatment," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding. However, female death rates remain high because they historically began smoking in larger numbers than men, and quit later.

Cancer rates had been dropping an average of 1.1 percent per year between 1993 and 2002. "The evidence is unmistakable: we are truly turning the tide in the cancer battle," said John Seffrin, executive officer of the American Cancer Society.

The research was published online in the journal Cancer.