An new study shows that breast cancer rates in the US, which had been declining since 2000, leveled off in 2007, reports MyHealthNewsDaily's Sarah Williams. The study, which will be published in the September issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, also shows that while ER-negative cancers have been on the decline, rates of the more common ER-positive breast cancers have been on the rise since 2003. Incidence of ER-positive cancers rose steadily from 1992 to 2000, then dropped sharply from 2000 to 2003, Williams says. Now it's slightly back up, and researchers aren't really sure why — they speculate that more cases may be diagnosed because of better mammography technology, and the widespread use of hormone replacement therapy after menopause may have also caused a few cancers, Williams adds.
Meanwhile in the UK, Cancer Research UK warns that rates of bowel cancer are on the rise, reports the Guardian's Sarah Boseley. The research charity says that one man in 15 was diagnosed with the disease in 2008, compared to a diagnosis rate of one man in 29 in 1975. The rate among women has also risen to one in 19 from one in 26, Boseley writes. Although some cancer rates are rising because people are living longer, bowel cancer is strongly linked to diet and many times is preventable, Boseley adds. Cancer Research UK says people can limit their risk by eating healthy and exercising.