Incidence

Data Up to Date as of:

February 2019

Introduction

Cancer incidence is usually 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 2018, 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 1,735,350 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2018, including 164,690 cases of prostate cancer, 266,120 cases of female breast cancer, 234,030 cases of lung and bronchus cancer, and 140,250 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.

Note: There is strong evidence that screening can prevent colorectal and uterine cervical cancers.

Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.

Data Source

SEER Program, National Cancer Institute, 1975–2015.

Trends and Most Recent Estimates

All Cancer Sites Combined

By Sex

Rates of new cases of all cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	446.0	443.7 - 448.3
	Male	479.2	475.7 - 482.8
	Female	425.6	422.5 - 428.7

By Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of all cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 1992-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	All Races	428.4	426.5 - 430.3
	White	444.1	441.9 - 446.4
	Black	449.3	442.9 - 455.8
	Hispanic	331.0	326.5 - 335.5
	Asian/Pacific Islander	318.7	314.3 - 323.3
	American Indian/Alaska Native	424.8	401.8 - 448.7

Top 4 Cancer Sites

Comparison of Top Cancer Sites

Rates of new cases of the most common cancers, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Colon and Rectum	37.5	36.9 - 38.2
	Lung and Bronchus	52.0	51.3 - 52.8
	Female Breast	132.6	130.9 - 134.4
	Prostate	108.2	106.5 - 109.8

Colon and Rectum Cancer by Sex

Rates of new cases of colon and rectum cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	37.5	36.9 - 38.2
	Male	42.2	41.2 - 43.3
	Female	33.4	32.6 - 34.3

Colon and Rectum Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of colon and rectum cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 1992-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	All Races	37.2	36.6 - 37.7
	White	36.5	35.9 - 37.2
	Black	44.7	42.7 - 46.8
	Hispanic	33.3	31.9 - 34.8
	Asian/Pacific Islander	33.5	32.0 - 34.9
	American Indian/Alaska Native	61.5	52.8 - 71.1

Lung and Bronchus Cancer by Sex

Rates of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by sex, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Both Sexes	52.0	51.3 - 52.8
	Male	59.0	57.8 - 60.3
	Female	46.8	45.8 - 47.8

Lung and Bronchus Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of lung and bronchus cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 1992-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	All Races	48.2	47.6 - 48.9
	White	48.9	48.2 - 49.7
	Black	58.2	55.9 - 60.7
	Hispanic	26.7	25.3 - 28.1
	Asian/Pacific Islander	37.7	36.2 - 39.3
	American Indian/Alaska Native	44.9	37.5 - 53.1

Female Breast Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of female breast cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 1992-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	All Races	129.0	127.6 - 130.5
	White	132.4	130.6 - 134.1
	Black	131.7	127.2 - 136.3
	Hispanic	93.1	90.0 - 96.2
	Asian/Pacific Islander	111.7	108.2 - 115.3
	American Indian/Alaska Native	115.5	100.2 - 132.3

Prostate Cancer by Race/Ethnicity

Rates of new cases of prostate cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 1992-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	All Races	102.5	101.1 - 103.8
	White	100.8	99.3 - 102.4
	Black	164.3	158.4 - 170.4
	Hispanic	79.3	75.8 - 82.8
	Asian/Pacific Islander	59.6	56.7 - 62.7
	American Indian/Alaska Native	62.7	48.9 - 78.7

Additional Cancer Site with a Healthy People 2020 Target

Rates of new cases of invasive uterine cervical cancer, delay-adjusted cancer incidence by race/ethnicity, 1992-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	All Races	7.0	6.6 - 7.3
	White	7.2	6.8 - 7.6
	Black	6.4	5.5 - 7.4
	Hispanic	8.2	7.3 - 9.1
	Asian/Pacific Islander	6.0	5.2 - 6.9
	American Indian/Alaska Native	12.6	8.0 - 18.8

Selected Cancer Sites with Increasing Trends

Increasing Greater than 1% Annually

Rates of selected cancer sites that are increasing by 1% or greater per year^, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct	9.2	8.9 - 9.6
	Melanoma of the Skin	26.3	25.7 - 26.9
	Thyroid	15.2	14.8 - 15.7
	Myeloma	7.7	7.4 - 8.0

Increasing Less than 1% Annually

Rates of selected cancer sites that are increasing by less than 1% per year^, delay-adjusted cancer incidence, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Oral Cavity and Pharynx	12.0	11.6 - 12.4
	Testis	5.9	5.5 - 6.3
	Leukemia	15.2	14.7 - 15.6
	Esophageal adenocarcinoma	2.9	2.7 - 3.1

Selected Cancer Sites with Decreasing Trends

Decreasing Greater than 1% Annually

Rates of selected cancer sites that are decreasing by 1% or greater per year^, delay-adjusted incidence^, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Stomach	6.6	6.3 - 6.9
	Larynx	2.6	2.5 - 2.8
	Ovary	11.8	11.3 - 12.4
	Hodgkin Lymphoma	2.7	2.5 - 2.9
	Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma	1.4	1.2 - 1.5

Decreasing Less than 1% Annually

Rates of selected cancer sites that are decreasing by less than 1% per year^, delay-adjusted incidence^, 1975-2015
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Most Recent Estimates (2015)
Overview Graph	Detailed Trend Graphs	Rate per 100,000	95% Confidence Interval
	Urinary Bladder	20.2	19.7 - 20.7
	Brain and Other Nervous System	6.7	6.5 - 7.0

Additional Information on Incidence

For the public

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

For health professionals

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 Fast Stats: An interactive tool for access to SEER cancer statistics. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute.
WONDER Online Databases – United States Cancer Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Year Range

1975-2015

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2011-2015

Summary Tables

Diagnosis

Recent Summary Trend

Falling

Desired Direction