Lifetime Risk of Developing or Dying From Cancer

The lifetime risk of developing or dying from cancer refers to the chance a person has, over the course of his or her lifetime (from birth to death), of being diagnosed with or dying from cancer. These risk estimates, like annual incidence and mortality data, provide another measure of how widespread cancer is in the United States.

The following tables list lifetime risks of developing and dying from certain cancers for men and women. The information is from the US National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Database, and is based on incidence and mortality data for the United States from 2007 through 2009, the most current years for which data are available.

The risk is expressed both in terms of percent and as odds. For example, the risk that a man will develop bladder cancer during his lifetime is 3.81%. This means he has about 1 chance in 26 of developing bladder cancer (100/3.81 = 26). Put another way, 1 out of every 26 men in the United States will develop bladder cancer during his lifetime.

These numbers are average risks for the overall US population. Your risk may be higher or lower than these numbers, depending on your particular risk factors.

Males

Females

References

Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Waldron W, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Eisner MP, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009 (Vintage 2009 Populations), National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/, based on November 2011 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER Web site, April 2012.

Lifetime Risk (Percent) of Being Diagnosed with Cancer by Site and Race/Ethnicity: Males, 18 SEER Areas, 2007-2009 (Table 1.15) and Females, 18 SEER Areas, 2007-2009 (Table 1.16). 2012. Accessed at http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/results_merged/topic_lifetime_risk_diagnosis.pdf on November 28, 2012.

Lifetime Risk (Percent) of Dying from Cancer by Site and Race/Ethnicity: Males, Total US, 2007-2009 (Table 1.18) and Females, Total US, 2007-2009 (Table 1.19). 2012. Accessed at http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/results_merged/topic_lifetime_risk_death.pdf on November 28, 2012.