Cancer death rates continue to drop in the United States, according to new data issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

Overall, cancer mortality dipped by about 1.5% on average between 2001 and 2017. And the decline was more pronounced among men (a 1.8% drop) when compared to women (1.4%). The CDC noted that these decreases occurred across all major racial and ethnic groups and among adolescents, young adults and children.  

“The United States continues to make significant progress in cancer prevention, early detection and treatment,” Robert Redfield, MD, director of the CDC, said in a statement. “While we are encouraged that overall cancer death rates have decreased, there is still much more we can do to prevent new cancers and support communities, families and cancer survivors in this ongoing battle.”

Lung cancer could be one area for potential improvement. While death rates from this form of the disease dipped 4.8% among men and 3.7% in women, it remains the leading cause of cancer death. Another report from the CDC last month found that states are still falling woefully short of hitting low-dose CT screening goals, despite the intervention being proven to save lives.

“We can and must do more, particularly to ensure everyone in the United States has access to the resources that are all too often benefitting only the most fortunate,” added William Cance, MD, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, which also contributed to the report.

The authors reached their findings using data from both the CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The findings were published March 12 in Cancer.