ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A new report shows that the rate of people dying from cancer in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past 30 years.

The U.S. cancer death rate has dropped 33% since 1991, according to the American Cancer Society. That is nearly four million fewer deaths.

The report also found the five-year survival rate for all cancers has increased. It was 49% in the mid-1970s, but jumped to 68% between 2012-2018.

The types of cancer with the highest survival rates are thyroid, prostate and testicular. All are above 95%.

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmad, a radiation oncologist with OSF Healthcare, credits targeted prevention, screening and early detection inverventions.

“Certainly it’s great news. We always want to see decreases in cancer deaths year after year,” Ahmad said. “There can be a lot of reasons for it. I think first and foremost is earlier detection, meaning that we’re finding the cancers when they’re smaller, when they haven’t spread anywhere else in the body, and anytime you find cancers in earlier stage, the prognosis is much better and the chances of dying from cancer are very low.”

Not all news was positive on the cancer front, however, as the report highlighted that breast, uterine and prostate cancers are slightly rising around the country.