Death rates for the four major cancers — lung, colorectal, breast and prostate — are declining, thanks to falling smoking rates and increases in screening and treatment, the Canadian Cancer Society says.

Overall cancer incidence and death rates fell between 2004 and 2008, according to a new U.S. report.

A "relatively large" increase in the prevalence of liver cancer, which is nearly 100 times less common than prostate cancer, has been reported by Statistics Canada.

Smoking rates continue to drop and have led to a decline in cancer death rates, but a sizable number of Canadians continue to light up.