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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 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 2005, 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, 2005
|
|
Primary site
|
Estimated prevalence
|
| |
Total |
Males |
Females |
| All sites
|
10,701,000 |
4,955,000 |
5,746,000 |
| Brain & other nervous system
|
109,000
|
58,000
|
51,000 |
| Breast |
2,521,000
|
13,000
|
2,478,000 |
| Cervix |
195,000 |
0 |
195,000 |
| Colon & rectum
|
1,168,000
|
570,000
|
598,000 |
| Endometrial cancer & Uterine sarcoma
|
554,000
|
0 |
554,000 |
| Esophagus |
32,000
|
24,000
|
8,000 |
| Hodgkin disease
|
144,000
|
74,000
|
70,000 |
| Kidney & renal pelvis
|
280,000
|
166,000
|
114,000 |
| Larynx |
98,000
|
79,000 |
20,000 |
| Leukemias |
231,000
|
131,000
|
100,000 |
| Liver & bile duct
|
24,000
|
16,000
|
8,000 |
| Lung & bronchus
|
418,000
|
199,000 |
219,000 |
| Melanoma of skin
|
725,000
|
361,000
|
364,000 |
| Multiple myeloma
|
63,000
|
35,000
|
28,000 |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
|
431,000
|
222,000
|
209,000 |
| Oral cavity & pharynx
|
246,000
|
157,000
|
88,000 |
| Ovary |
170,000
|
0 |
170,000 |
| Pancreas |
34,000
|
17,000
|
17,000 |
| Prostate |
2,244,000
|
2,244,000
|
0 |
| Stomach |
70,000
|
40,000
|
30,000 |
| Testis |
168,000
|
168,000
|
0 |
| Thyroid |
362,000
|
82,000
|
281,000 |
| Urinary bladder
|
575,000
|
425,000
|
151,000 |
| Childhood cancer
(age 0 -19 years) |
249,000
|
128,000
|
121,000 |
References
Ries LAG, Melbert D, Krapcho M, et al (eds). SEER Cancer
Statistics Review, 1975-2005, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD,
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005/, based on November 2007 SEER data
submission, posted to the SEER Web site, 2008.
Specifically:
National Cancer Institute.
SEER Cancer Statistics Review,
1975-2005. Table I-21,
US Prevalence Counts, Invasive Cancers Only,
January 1, 2005, Using Different Tumor Inclusion Criteria.
Available
at:
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005/results_merged/topic_prevalence.pdf.
Accessed October 24, 2008.
Suggestion for combining the 2:
Ries LAG, Melbert D, Krapcho M, et al (eds). SEER Cancer
Statistics Review, 1975-2005, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda,
Table I-21, US
Prevalence Counts, Invasive Cancers Only, January 1,
2005, Using Different Tumor Inclusion Criteria. Available
at:
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005/results_merged/topic_prevalence.pdf.
Accessed October 24, 2008.
Last Medical Review: 10/30/2008
Last Revised: 10/30/2008
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