Rising cancer mortality in the United States, 1962–1987: Evidence against environmental causation

The recorded rise in cancer mortality, particularly in industrialized nations such as the United States, is often attributed to increasing environmental carcinogens and has resulted in the public expectation for increased regulation. However, longitudinal Gompertzian analysis indicates that the major factor for rising cancer mortality is the increasing deterministic competitiveness of cancer in a climate that is becoming more conducive to human survival. Hence, rising cancer mortality is a predictable manifestation of a natural relationship between human aging and mortality, and should not be interpreted as evidence of increased environmental carcinogens.