Death rates from cancer are dropping more quickly across the United States, offering what an expert called a “glimmer of hope” against a leading killer.

According to a new report, cancer death rates fell by 2.1 percent each year from 2002 through 2004, almost double the 1.1 percent annual decline recorded between 1993 and 2003.

Most of the top 15 cancers in both men and women experienced declines in death rates. Notably, men saw declines in death rates for lung, prostate and colorectal cancers, while women saw declines in colorectal and breast cancer. In addition, the increase in death rates from lung cancer among women slowed considerably.

“That’s a very encouraging finding. It’s the key indicator of progress in cancer,” said Dr. David Espey, a cancer epidemiologist from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta who was assigned to the Indian Health Service Division of Epidemiology and Disease Control, in Albuquerque, N.M.

The acceleration in decline of cancer deaths is “a good news story,” added Dr. Corey J. Langer, director of thoracic and head and neck medical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. “It’s the first glimmer of hope in a long time,” he said.

The report, which appears annually, is a joint effort from the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.