<p><em>by Hannah Hoag </em></p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p> In 1950, lower-class Americans were less likely to die from cancer than those living in tony neighborhoods. Now the opposite is true, says Gopal Singh, a health statistician at the National Cancer Institute. He examined 18 million cancer-related death certificates from the past 50 years and divided the victims into five socioeconomic groups. Cancer mortality rates in the lower economic groups rose rapidly through the 1980s, even as they leveled off among the more privileged. Singh blames the flip on smoking. Before World War II, cigarettes were fashionable among the social elite. By the 1970s men without a high school diploma were nearly twice as likely to smoke as their college-educated peers. The gap has since grown to a factor of three. "Unless we can reduce the differences in smoking patterns, screening, and survival, we'll see a widening trend in mortality between social classes," Singh says. </p><figure class="fr-image-container fr-full"><img src="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/18994/rd_numbers.gif" title="rd_numbers.gif" loading="lazy" data-id="18994"><figcaption class="fr-figcaption"><p class="fr-caption"></p></figcaption></figure><p>Graphic by Matt Zang</p><div data-embedid="9b6b7608-0101-4c26-8de9-6aad26a6d2b9" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div>

September 2002

The September 2002 issue of Discover Magazine

A New Ice Age

Explore how cancer mortality rates have shifted, impacting lower-class Americans due to changing smoking patterns. Discover the findings!

Health

Discover Data: Cancer's Reversal of Fortunes

Article

News

Science

by Hannah Hoag In 1950, lower-class Americans were less likely to die from cancer than those living in tony neighborhoods. Now the opposite is true, says Gopal Singh, a health statistician at the National Cancer Institute. He examined 18 million cancer-related death certificates from the past 50 years and divided the victims into five socioeconomic groups. Cancer mortality rates in the lower economic groups rose rapidly through the 1980s, even as they leveled off among the more privileged. Singh blames the flip on smoking. Before World War II, cigarettes were fashionable among the social elite. By the 1970s men without a high school diploma were nearly twice as likely to smoke as their college-educated peers. The gap has since grown to a factor of three. "Unless we can reduce the differences in smoking patterns, screening, and survival, we'll see a widening trend in mortality between social classes," Singh says. Graphic by Matt Zang

Discover Magazine’s award-winning journalism inspires and informs, delivering thought-provoking content that sparks meaningful conversations. With a focus on groundbreaking developments in science, technology, and the world around us, Discover highlights the impact of these innovations on our daily lives.

探索数据：癌症命运的逆转

新闻简报

发表于

一个新的冰河时代

新冠疫苗似乎以一种令人惊讶的副作用增强了癌症治疗效果

超声波无需手术即可摧毁肿瘤，并已获批用于某些癌症治疗

前列腺癌到底有多常见？检测有多容易？

年轻人癌症发病率攀升——不良饮食和微塑料可能是罪魁祸首

猫可能掌握着治疗人类头颈癌的秘密

在死亡率方面，摄入植物蛋白或动物蛋白没有区别

病毒可充当特洛伊木马，利用细菌从内部杀死肿瘤

人工智能或将很快能仅通过听你的声音来检测喉癌

快速廉价，这种简单的呼吸测试或将彻底改变血癌诊断

橄榄油革新COVID-19疫苗、CRISPR基因编辑和癌症治疗

一次性电子烟中发现惊人水平的致癌有毒金属

“药丸绳”可监测食管癌风险，避免不必要的内窥镜检查

肠道微生物组有望改善胰腺癌的诊断和治疗

海参可能是一种罕见糖化合物阻止癌症生长的关键

新型血液检测可在症状出现前三年检测出癌症

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