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What is cancer prevalence?
Cancer prevalence
is defined as the total number of people
living with cancer at any point in time. It includes people diagnosed
with cancer in the past (who are still alive) as well as people
recently diagnosed.
Cancer prevalence is not a measure of how common a cancer is.
This number is reflected by cancer incidence,
which is the number of
people newly diagnosed with cancer in a given time period (usually a
year). Prevalence is affected both by the incidence of a cancer and by
how long people normally live with the disease.
For example, lung cancer is the second most common cancer in
both men and women, but lung cancer prevalence is not as high as that
of some less common cancers. This is because people with lung cancer
tend not to
live as long once diagnosed.
The numbers
The numbers on the chart come from the US National Cancer
Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
database for the year 2006, the most recent year for which good
estimates are available. These estimates are based on a sampling of the
US population.
Numbers may not add up because they have been rounded to the
nearest 1,000.
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Estimated cancer prevalence in the
United States, 2006
|
|
Primary site
|
Estimated prevalence
|
| |
Total |
Males |
Females |
| All
invasive cancer sites
|
11,028,000 |
5,116,000 |
5,912,000 |
| Brain & other nervous system
|
112,000
|
60,000
|
52,000 |
| Breast |
2,605,000
|
15,000
|
2,590,000 |
| Cervix |
198,000 |
0 |
198,000 |
| Colon & rectum
|
1,184,000
|
578,000
|
606,000 |
| Endometrial cancer & Uterine sarcoma
|
563,000
|
0 |
563,000 |
| Esophagus |
32,000
|
24,000
|
8,000 |
| Hodgkin disease
|
148,000
|
77,000
|
72,000 |
| Kidney & renal pelvis
|
296,000
|
175,000
|
120,000 |
| Larynx |
98,000
|
78,000 |
20,000 |
| Leukemias |
245,000
|
139,000
|
106,000 |
| Liver & bile duct
|
27,000
|
18,000
|
9,000 |
| Lung & bronchus
|
426,000
|
199,000 |
227,000 |
| Melanoma of skin
|
766,000
|
382,000
|
384,000 |
| Multiple myeloma
|
67,000
|
37,000
|
30,000 |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
|
453,000
|
234,000
|
219,000 |
| Oral cavity & pharynx
|
252,000
|
161,000
|
91,000 |
| Ovary |
174,000
|
0 |
174,000 |
| Pancreas |
36,000
|
17,000
|
18,000 |
| Prostate |
2,320,000
|
2,320,000
|
0 |
| Stomach |
71,000
|
41,000
|
30,000 |
| Testis |
175,000
|
175,000
|
0 |
| Thyroid |
388,000
|
87,000
|
300,000 |
| Urinary bladder
|
587,000
|
434,000
|
153,000 |
| Childhood cancer
(age 0 -19 years) |
260,000
|
134,000
|
126,000 |
References
Horner MJ, Ries LAG, Krapcho M, et al (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2006, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, Md, based on November 2008 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, 2009. Table I-21, US Prevalence Counts, Invasive Cancers Only, January 1, 2006, Using Different Tumor Inclusion Criteria. Accessed at http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2006/results_single/sect_01_table.21_2pgs.pdf on September 3, 2009.
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov). Prevalence database: "US Estimated 31-Year L-D Prevalence Counts on 1/1/2006". National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Statistical Research and Applications Branch, released April 2009, based on the November 2008 SEER data submission.
Last Medical Review: 09/03/2009
Last Revised: 09/03/2009
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