Incidence

Background

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

In 2024, nearly half of all new cancer cases are expected to be cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, and colon and rectum. According to American Cancer Society projections, about 2,001,140 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2024, including 299,010 cases of prostate cancer, 313,510 cases of breast cancer, 234,580 cases of lung and bronchus cancer, and 152,810 cases of colorectal cancer.

Measure

Incidence rate: the observed number of new cancer cases per 100,000 people per year, adjusted for age and 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.

Trend lines: calculated from the underlying rates using the Joinpoint Trend Analysis Software.
The 2020 incidence rate is displayed but not used in the fit of the trends line(s). Impact of COVID on SEER Incidence 2020 data.

Data Source

SEER Program, National Cancer Institute, 1975–2021.

Healthy People 2030 Target

There are no Healthy People 2030 targets for cancer incidence.

Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trends and Most Recent Estimates

All Cancer Sites Combined

Rates of new cases of all cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	461.4	459.0 - 463.9
	Male	492.8	489.2 - 496.4
	Female	443.2	439.9 - 446.5

Rates of new cases of all cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 2000-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	All Races	458.3	457.3 - 459.3
Non-Hispanic White	467.5	466.3 - 468.6
Non-Hispanic Black	461.7	458.6 - 464.7
Hispanic	372.8	370.5 - 375.0
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander	329.7	326.8 - 332.5
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	477.9	459.1 - 497.2

Top 4 Cancer Sites

Rates of new cases of the most common cancers, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	Colon and Rectum	35.8	35.2 - 36.5
Lung and Bronchus	43.7	43.0 - 44.4
Female Breast	144.6	142.7 - 146.5
Prostate	131.4	129.6 - 133.3

Rates of new cases of colon and rectum cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	Both Sexes	35.8	35.2 - 36.5
Male	39.9	38.9 - 41.0
Female	32.2	31.3 - 33.1

Rates of new cases of colon and rectum cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 2000-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	All Races	37.5	37.2 - 37.8
Non-Hispanic White	37.1	36.8 - 37.4
Non-Hispanic Black	41.9	41.0 - 42.8
Hispanic	35.3	34.6 - 36.0
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander	31.3	30.4 - 32.2
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	58.6	52.1 - 65.6

Rates of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	Both Sexes	43.7	43.0 - 44.4
Male	46.7	45.6 - 47.8
Female	41.6	40.6 - 42.6

Rates of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 2000-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	All Races	46.9	46.6 - 47.3
Non-Hispanic White	48.1	47.8 - 48.5
Non-Hispanic Black	48.6	47.6 - 49.6
Hispanic	25.5	24.9 - 26.2
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander	33.5	32.6 - 34.4
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	57.5	51.1 - 64.3

Rates of new cases of female breast cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 2000-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	All Races	137.4	136.6 - 138.2
Non-Hispanic White	138.7	137.8 - 139.6
Non-Hispanic Black	131.1	128.9 - 133.3
Hispanic	111.1	109.5 - 112.7
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander	125.5	123.1 - 127.9
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	131.0	117.8 - 145.2

Rates of new cases of prostate cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 2000-2021
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2021)
	All Races	128.0	127.2 - 128.7
Non-Hispanic White	121.1	120.3 - 122.0
Non-Hispanic Black	209.8	206.6 - 213.0
Hispanic	96.3	94.5 - 98.1
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander	71.3	69.3 - 73.3
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	101.5	88.5 - 115.8

Recent Trends for Common Cancer Sites

2017-2021 trends (Average Annual Percent Change) in delay-adjusted cancer incidence rates for common cancer sites
Overview graph	Cancer Site	Average Annual Percent Change
	All Sites	0.2
Brain and ONS	-1.4*
Cervix Uteri	-0.7
Colon and Rectum	-0.8*
Corpus Uteri and NOS	1.3*
Esophageal Adenocarcinoma	0.7*
Esophageal Squamous Cell	-1.3*
Female Breast	1.4*
Hodgkin Lymphoma	-1.0*
Kidney and Renal Pelvis	0.9*
Larynx	-2.7*
Leukemia	0.3
Liver and IBD	0.1
Lung and Bronchus	-2.9*
Melanoma of the Skin	1.1*
Myeloma	1.1*
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma	-0.4*
Oral Cavity and Pharynx	0.8*
Ovary	-1.5*
Pancreas	0.9*
Prostate	3.3*
Stomach	2.0*
Testis	0.7*
Thyroid	-1.9*
Urinary Bladder	-1.1*
* The Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) is statistically significant.

Additional Information

General Public Resources

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

Public Health Resources

Resources for Health Professionals. National Cancer Institute.
Cancer Facts and Figures. American Cancer Society.

Scientific reports

Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. National Cancer Institute.
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 and Survival—United States, 2013. Henley SJ, Singh SD, King JK et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017:66(3):69-75.
Cancer Statistics, 2018. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal, A. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2018;61(01):7-30.

Statistics

SEER Cancer Statistics Review, National Cancer Institute.
State Cancer Profiles. National Cancer Institute, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
United States Cancer Statistics: Data Visualizations. 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*Explorer: An interactive website that provides easy access to a wide range of SEER cancer statistics. National Cancer Institute.
WONDER Online Databases – United States Cancer Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Year Range

1975-2021

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2017-2021

Recent Summary Trend

Rising

Desired Direction

Falling

Summary Tables

Diagnosis