Stage at Diagnosis

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In 2019, the rate of new regional and distant stage female breast cancer cases was 43.2 per 100,000 females.

Summary graph for Stage at Diagnosis, Click to see detailed view of graph

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Background

Cancers can be diagnosed at different stages in their development. Stage of cancer diagnosis may be expressed as numbers (for example, I, II, III, or IV) or by terms such as “localized,” “regional,” and “distant.” The lower the number or the more localized the cancer, the better a person’s chances of benefiting from treatment.

Tracking the rates of late-stage (distant) cancers is a good way to monitor the impact of cancer screening. When more cancers are detected in early stages, fewer should be detected in late stages.

Both rates of late stage disease and stage proportions are provided below since each has a somewhat different interpretation. For example, rates could be declining among all stages of disease, but the proportion of late stage disease among diagnosed cases could be relatively constant.

Measure

Late-stage diagnosis rate: The number of new cancer cases diagnosed at a distant stage per 100,000 people per year for cancers of the prostate, lung and bronchus, colon, rectum, and cervix uteri. Late stage is defined as regional and distant stage diagnoses, per 100,000 women per year for cancer of the female breast. Late stage is defined as the stages which screening tends to reduce and differs by cancer site (i.e. when screening is initiated the proportion diagnosed with late state disease goes down).

Stage Distribution:  The proportion of new cancer cases among all cases diagnosed in a specific year.  The full distribution of all stages (local, regional, distant and unstaged/unknown) is shown.

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • There are no Healthy People Target for breast, colon, rectum, cervix uteri, lung and bronchus or prostate cancer by stage at diagnosis.

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

Data Source

SEER Program, National Cancer Institute, 2004–2019.

Trends and Most Recent EstimatesHelp with navigating the graphs and data tables

Late Stage Female Breast Cancer Rates

Rates of new cases of late stage female breast cancer, delay-adjusted incidence, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Delay Rate per 100,000 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Rates of new cases of late stage female breast cancer, delay-adjusted incidence, 2004-2019 Late Stage Breast CancerClick to see the detailed trend graph for Late Stage Breast Cancer 43.2 42.7 - 43.6

Distant Stage Cancer Rates

Rates of new cancers of distant stage diseases, delay-adjusted incidence, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Delay Rate per 100,000 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Rates of new cancers of distant stage diseases, delay-adjusted incidence, 2004-2019 ColonClick to see the detailed trend graph for Colon 5.9 5.7 - 6.0
RectumClick to see the detailed trend graph for Rectum 1.7 1.6 - 1.7
Cervix UteriClick to see the detailed trend graph for Cervix Uteri 1.1 1.0 - 1.1
Lung and BronchusClick to see the detailed trend graph for Lung and Bronchus 22.8 22.5 - 23.0
ProstateClick to see the detailed trend graph for Prostate 10.9 10.7 - 11.2

Stage Distribution

Female Breast Cancer
Distribution of female breast cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent of diagnoses 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Distribution of female breast cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019 LocalizedClick to see the detailed trend graph for Localized 65.2 57.0 - 73.3
Regional/DistantClick to see the detailed trend graph for Regional/Distant 32.1 24.2 - 40.1
Unstaged/UnknownClick to see the detailed trend graph for Unstaged/Unknown 3.0 0.1 - 5.9
Lung Cancer
Distribution of lung cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent of diagnoses 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Distribution of lung cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019 LocalizedClick to see the detailed trend graph for Localized 27.7 15.2 - 40.2
RegionalClick to see the detailed trend graph for Regional 20.3 9.1 - 31.6
DistantClick to see the detailed trend graph for Distant 45.5 31.6 - 59.4
Unstaged/UnknownClick to see the detailed trend graph for Unstaged/Unknown 7.1 0.0 - 14.3
Colon Cancer
Distribution of colon cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent of diagnoses 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Distribution of colon cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019 LocalizedClick to see the detailed trend graph for Localized 34.8 16.4 - 53.2
RegionalClick to see the detailed trend graph for Regional 36.2 17.6 - 54.7
DistantClick to see the detailed trend graph for Distant 22.8 6.6 - 39.0
Unstaged/UnknownClick to see the detailed trend graph for Unstaged/Unknown 7.2 0.0 - 17.1
Rectum Cancer
Distribution of rectum cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent of diagnoses 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Distribution of rectum cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019 LocalizedClick to see the detailed trend graph for Localized 37.2 5.5 - 68.9
RegionalClick to see the detailed trend graph for Regional 35.6 4.2 - 67.0
DistantClick to see the detailed trend graph for Distant 18.9 0.0 - 44.5
Unstaged/UnknownClick to see the detailed trend graph for Unstaged/Unknown 9.8 0.0 - 29.4
Cervix Uteri Cancer
Distribution of cervix uteri cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent of diagnoses 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Distribution of cervix uteri cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019 LocalizedClick to see the detailed trend graph for Localized 43.6 8.8 - 78.3
RegionalClick to see the detailed trend graph for Regional 37.4 3.5 - 71.3
DistantClick to see the detailed trend graph for Distant 14.0 0.0 - 38.4
Unstaged/UnknownClick to see the detailed trend graph for Unstaged/Unknown 7.2 0.0 - 25.4
Prostate Cancer
Distribution of prostate cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2019)
Percent of diagnoses 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Distribution of prostate cancer diagnoses by stage at diagnosis, 2004-2019 LocalizedClick to see the detailed trend graph for Localized 67.5 59.0 - 76.0
RegionalClick to see the detailed trend graph for Regional 13.3 7.1 - 19.4
DistantClick to see the detailed trend graph for Distant 8.7 3.6 - 13.9
Unstaged/UnknownClick to see the detailed trend graph for Unstaged/Unknown 11.0 5.4 - 16.7

Additional Information on Stage at Diagnosis

Year Range

2004-2019

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2013-2017

Summary Tables

Diagnosis

Recent Summary Trend

Falling

Desired Direction

Falling