Increased screening has lowered the rate at which adults are developing and dying from colorectal cancer, but there is still room for improvement says a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Colorectal cancer screening of people over the age of 50 increased overall from 52 percent in 2002 to 65 percent in 2010. Still, about one in three people between the ages of 50 and 75 are not up to date with recommended screenings for the cancer, according to the study, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Colorectal cancer, which is preventable with early screening, is the second leading killer among cancers affecting both men and women. Despite the danger, about 22 million U.S. citizens at-risk for the cancer have never been screened for it. That leaves federal health officials short of their goals for reducing the number of cases and deaths from the cancer.

The incidence of colorectal cancer in the United States decreased by 3.4 percent per year between 2003 and 2007, while the rate of deaths attributable to the cancer decreased by 3 percent per year during the same period, the study found. Those decreases represent about 66,000 fewer new cases of colorectal cancer and 32,000 fewer deaths than expected from 2003 to 2007, compared with 2002.

“Those who receive these life-saving screening tests can lead longer, healthier and more productive lives,” says CDC Director Thomas Frieden.

Increased screening for the cancer could make a big dent in medical costs and lost productivity, the CDC says. The estimated direct medical cost of colorectal cancer in 2010 was $14 billion. Besides the direct medical cost, colorectal cancer deaths account for $15.3 billion in lost productivity, or about $288,468 per person, in 2006, the latest year for which data is available.

Further progress in battling unnecessary cases and mortality from the cancer will depend on making screening more available, affordable, and routine, the study says.