Incidence

Last Updated:

January 2017

Introduction

Cancer incidence is usually measured as the number of new cases each year for every 100,000 people (for gender-specific cancers, people of the same gender serve as the denominator) and age-adjusted to a standard population to allow comparisons over time.

In 2016, nearly half of all new cancer cases are expected to be cancers of the prostate, female breast, lung, and colon/rectum. According to American Cancer Society projections, about 1,658,210 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2016, including 180,890 cases of prostate cancer, 246,660 cases of female breast cancer, 224,390 cases of lung and bronchus cancer, and 134,490 cases of colon and rectum cancer.

Measure

Incidence rate: the observed number of new cancer cases per 100,000 people per year, adjusted for cancer case reporting delays and based on data from approximately 10 percent of the U.S. population.

Delay adjustment: a method of estimating delayed reporting of incident cases and then adjusting rates to account for this delay.

Healthy People 2020 Target

Reduce new cases of invasive colorectal cancer to 39.9 per 100,000 people.
Reduce new cases of invasive uterine cervical cancer to 7.2 per 100,000 females.

Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Data Source

SEER Program, National Cancer Institute, 1975–2013.

Trends and Most Recent Estimates

All Cancer Sites Combined

By Sex

Rates of new cases of all cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	448.6	(446.3 - 451.0)
	Male	488.6	(484.9 - 492.3)
	Female	422.6	(419.5 - 425.8)

By Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of all cancer by race/ethnicity, 1992-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	All Races	419.5	(417.6 - 421.4)
	White	429.9	(427.6 - 432.1)
	Black	444.2	(437.7 - 450.7)
	Hispanic	327.4	(322.8 - 332.0)
	Asian/Pacific Islander	305.3	(300.8 - 309.7)
	American Indian/Alaska Native	367.6	(346.1 - 389.0)

Top Cancer Sites

Comparison of Top Cancer Sites

Rates of new cases of the most common cancers, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Colon and Rectum	37.9	(37.2 - 38.6)
	Lung and Bronchus	54.6	(53.8 - 55.4)
	Female Breast	132.2	(130.4 - 134.0)
	Prostate	112.1	(110.4 - 113.8)

Colon and Rectum Cancer by Sex

Rates of new cases of colon and rectum cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	37.9	(37.2 - 38.6)
	Male	43.7	(42.6 - 44.8)
	Female	33.0	(32.1 - 33.8)

Colon and Rectum Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of colon and rectum cancer by race/ethnicity, 1992-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	All Races	36.7	(36.2 - 37.3)
	White	35.6	(34.9 - 36.2)
	Black	45.8	(43.7 - 47.9)
	Hispanic	31.6	(30.1 - 33.0)
	Asian/Pacific Islander	34.2	(32.7 - 35.6)
	American Indian/Alaska Native	50.9	(42.6 - 59.1)

Lung and Bronchus Cancer by Sex

Rates of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	54.6	(53.8 - 55.4)
	Male	62.3	(60.9 - 63.6)
	Female	48.9	(47.9 - 50.0)

Lung and Bronchus Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer by race/ethnicity, 1992-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	All Races	48.6	(48.0 - 49.3)
	White	49.3	(48.6 - 50.1)
	Black	58.5	(56.1 - 61.0)
	Hispanic	28.3	(26.8 - 29.8)
	Asian/Pacific Islander	37.3	(35.7 - 38.9)
	American Indian/Alaska Native	38.4	(31.1 - 45.7)

Female Breast Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of female breast cancer by race/ethnicity, 1992-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	All Races	126.2	(124.8 - 127.7)
	White	129.1	(127.4 - 130.8)
	Black	126.4	(121.9 - 130.9)
	Hispanic	93.4	(90.2 - 96.6)
	Asian/Pacific Islander	107.4	(103.9 - 110.9)
	American Indian/Alaska Native	89.7	(76.3 - 103.0)

Prostate Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of prostate cancer by race/ethnicity, 1992-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	All Races	104.6	(103.2 - 106.0)
	White	99.6	(98.1 - 101.1)
	Black	170.0	(163.9 - 176.1)
	Hispanic	83.1	(79.5 - 86.8)
	Asian/Pacific Islander	56.7	(53.8 - 59.6)
	American Indian/Alaska Native	58.9	(45.3 - 72.5)

Additional Cancer Sites with Healthy People 2020 Targets

Rates of new cases of cervix uteri cancer by race/ethnicity, 1992-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	All Races	6.6	(6.3 - 6.9)
	White	6.5	(6.1 - 6.9)
	Black	8.1	(7.0 - 9.3)
	Hispanic	8.2	(7.3 - 9.0)
	Asian/Pacific Islander	5.7	(4.9 - 6.5)
	American Indian/Alaska Native	9.4	(4.9 - 13.9)

Selected Cancer Sites with Increasing Trends

Increasing Greater than 1.5% Annually

Rates of selected cancer sites that are increasing by 1.5% or greater per year^, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Thyroid	15.3	(14.9 - 15.8)
	Myeloma	7.5	(7.2 - 7.8)
	Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct	8.8	(8.5 - 9.2)
	Leukemia	15.8	(15.3 - 16.3)

Increasing Less than 1.5% Annually

Rates of selected cancer sites that are increasing by less than 1.5% per year^, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Melanoma of the Skin	24.8	(24.2 - 25.3)
	Testis	6.1	(5.7 - 6.5)
	Oral Cavity and Pharynx	11.6	(11.3 - 12.0)
	Esophageal adenocarcinoma	2.8	(2.6 - 2.9)

Selected Cancer Sites with Decreasing Trends

Rates of selected cancer sites with decreasing delay-adjusted incidence^, 1975-2013
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2013)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	Confidence Interval
	Hodgkin Lymphoma	2.7	(2.5 - 2.9)
	Larynx	2.9	(2.7 - 3.0)
	Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma	1.3	(1.2 - 1.5)
	Stomach	6.9	(6.6 - 7.2)
	Ovary	11.7	(11.2 - 12.3)

Additional Information on Incidence

For the public

Learn About Cancer. American Cancer Society.
Cancer Incidence Rate. National Cancer Institute.
Common Cancer Types. National Cancer Institute.

Scientific reports

Lung cancer incidence trends among men and women – United States, 2005–2009. Henley SJ, Richareds TB, Underwood JM, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63(01):1–5.
Invasive cancer incidence – United States, 2010. Henley SJ, Singh S, King J, Wilson R, and Ryerson B. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63(12):253–259.
Invasive cancer incidence – United States, 2009. Singh S, Henley SJ, Wilson R, King J, and Eheman C. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013;62(07):113–118.

Statistics

American Cancer Society – Facts & Figures 2016.
WONDER Online Databases – United States Cancer Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Healthy People 2020, 2020 Topics & Objectives – Cancer.
State Cancer Profiles. National Cancer Institute, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
United States Cancer Statistics. National Cancer Institute, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
United States Cancer Statistics – Interpreting Incidence Data. National Cancer Institute, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SEER Cancer Statistics Review, National Cancer Institute.
SEER Fast Stats: An interactive tool for access to SEER cancer statistics. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute.

Year Range

1975-2013

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2009-2013

Summary Tables

Diagnosis

Recent Summary Trend

Falling

Desired Direction