Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) –- The number of black men dying of cancer dropped the most in the last two decades although their rates of death from the disease remain the highest among all U.S. ethnicities, according to a report.

As cancer deaths continued their 20-year decline in the U.S., rates among black men fell about 50 percent during the period, according to the American Cancer Society. Still, the death rates among black men were 27 percent higher that of white men and double that of Asian Americans, the report said.

Cancer causes 1 in 4 deaths in the U.S., according to the paper. Since 1991, the number of deaths from the disease has dropped 20 percent, representing about 1.34 million fewer cancer deaths. While the decline in cancer deaths among blacks has been more rapid, gaps exist in access to care that may be responsible for the higher numbers, the report's authors said.