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Cancer
Selected U.S. National Research Findings
Below are selected national women's health research findings and facts related to cancer. This
information is selected text from articles or documents. Please view the source documents below each bulleted section to determine the exact
context.
For more resources on this topic, visit: Cancer: Women’s Health Topics A-Z
http://www.cdc.gov/women/az/cancer.htm
LINKS ON THIS PAGE
Cancer: Breast Cancer
Cancer: Cervical Cancer
Cancer: Colorectal Cancer
Cancer: Deaths
Cancer: Endometrial Cancer
Cancer: Lung Cancer
Cancer: Ovarian Cancer
Cancer: Statistics (General)- includes multiple topics, behavioral risks, trends, and/or summary statistics
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Cancer: Breast Cancer |
| •
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among females. •
Breast cancer incidence is higher for non-Hispanic white females than
for females in other racial and ethnic groups.
•
In 2001 age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates for non-Hispanic
white females exceeded those for black females by 33 percent, for Asian
or Pacific Islander females by 52 percent, and for Hispanic females by
74 percent.
•
The 5-year survival rate for black females diagnosed in 1992–2000 with
breast cancer was 14 percentage points lower than the 5-year survival
rate for white females (74 percent compared with 88 percent).
•
In 2003 breast cancer mortality for black females was 37 percent higher
than for white females (preliminary data), compared with less than 15
percent higher in 1990 (based on age-adjusted death rates).
•
In 2003, 70 percent of women age 40 years and over had a mammogram
within the past 2 years. Poor women living below the poverty threshold
were less likely to have a recent mammogram (55 percent) than were women
in families with incomes at least twice the poverty threshold (74
percent).
Source: Health, United States, 2005
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
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• Approximately 70%
of U. S. women have ever had a mammogram.
• The likelihood that a woman has had a mammogram at some time in her
life varies by race/ethnicity.
• Hispanic women were the least likely to have ever had a mammogram,
whereas non-Hispanic white women were the most likely.
Source: QuickStats:
Percentage of Women Who Reported Ever Having a Mammogram
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5401a9.htm
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• Except for skin
cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among
American women.
• It is second to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related
deaths among women.
• In 2003, 181,646 women and 1,826 men were diagnosed with
breast cancer.*†
• In 2003, 41,619 women and 379 men died from breast cancer.*†
*Note: Incidence counts cover approximately 96% of the U.S. population
and death counts cover 100% of the U.S. population. Use caution in
comparing incidence and death counts.
†Source:
U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics:
2003 Incidence and Mortality (preliminary data). Atlanta (GA):
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2006 and National
Vital Statistics Vol. 53, No. 5, 2004.
|
• The evidence is suggestive of no causal relationship between active smoking and breast
cancer.
Source: The Health Consequences of Smoking: 2004 Report of the Surgeon General
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/
|
| • African American women have the highest rate of death from breast cancer, and
Asian/Pacific Islander women have the lowest. • Of all diagnosed cases of breast
cancer, 75% are among women aged 50 years or older.
• Women have a 1 in 50 chance of getting breast cancer by age 50, a 1 in 24 chance by age
60, and a 1 in 8 lifetime risk for the disease.
• Screening with mammography can reduce deaths due to breast cancer by 16% among women
aged 40 and older, and the risk reduction associated with screening increases as women get older.
• Timely mammography screening among women aged 40 or older can prevent approximately 16%
of all deaths from breast cancer, and the risk reduction associated with screening and the reduction in risk increases as women get older.
• In 2002, 20% of American women aged 50 years or older reported that they had not had a
mammogram in the previous 2 years.
Source: The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State
Perspectives 2004
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/burdenbook2004/pdf/
burden_book2004.pdf
|
• Breast cancer screening for women aged >40 years increased from 1991 to 2001.
Source: State-Specific Prevalence of Selected Chronic Disease-Related Characteristics -
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5208a1.htm
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• Women who took oral contraceptives at some point in their lives are no more likely to
develop breast cancer between the ages of 35 and 64 than are other women the same age.
Source: Oral Contraceptives and the Risk of Breast Cancer, 2002
Press Release- http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/r020626.htm
|
|
Cancer: Cervical Cancer |
•
In 2003, 79 percent of women age 18 years and over reported a Pap smear
within the past 3 years. Among women 25–44 years of age, Pap smear use
was lowest for women with less than a high school education (72 percent)
and highest for women with at least some college education (91 percent).
Source: Health, United States, 2005
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
|
• The incidence
of invasive cervical cancer has decreased significantly over the
last 40 years, in large part because of screening for, and treatment
of, precancerous cervical lesions.
• According to the CDC study, "Cervical Cancer Mortality among
Foreign-Born Women Living in the United States, 1985—1996," death
rates from cervical cancer increased for foreign-born women while continuing
to decrease for U.S.-born women from 1985 through 1996.
• In 2003, 11,820 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer.*†
• In
2003, 3,919 women died from cervical cancer.*†
• Routine screening for cervical cancer can prevent most occurrences of
this disease.
*Note: Incidence counts cover approximately 96% of the U.S. population
and death counts cover 100% of the U.S. population. Use caution in
comparing incidence and death counts.
†Source:
U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics:
2003 Incidence and Mortality (preliminary data). Atlanta (GA):
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2006 and National
Vital Statistics Vol. 53, No. 5, 2004.
|
• The evidence is sufficient to infer a causal relationship between smoking and cervical
cancer.
Source: The Health Consequences of Smoking: 2004 Report of the Surgeon General
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/
|
• High proportions of women aged >18 years reported ever having Pap test (median: 94.5%)
and having a Pap test in the past 3 years (87.1%).
Source: State-Specific Prevalence of Selected Chronic Disease-Related Characteristics -
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5208a1.htm
|
| • The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women with an intact
uterine cervix who had never had a Pap test ranged from 12.3% in the East to 4.9% in Alaska. • AI/AN women were more likely to never have had a Pap test than women of other racial/ethnic groups.
Source: Surveillance for Health Behaviors of American Indians and Alaska Natives:
Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1997-2000
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5207a1.htm
|
| • The incidence of invasive cervical cancer decreased for Hispanic and non-Hispanic
women. • Among women aged >30 years, cervical cancer incidence for Hispanic
women was approximately twice that for non-Hispanic women. The incidence for invasive cervical cancer was 16.9 per 100,000 women for Hispanic
women and 8.9 for non-Hispanic women.
• For both Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, approximately 30% of all new invasive cervical
cancers diagnosed among women aged <50 years were at an advanced stage; among women who were aged >50 years, advanced-stage cervical
cancer represented 52% of new diagnoses.
Source: Invasive Cervical Cancer Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Women - United States,
1992-1999
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5147a2.htm
|
| • Among women receiving their first National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection
Program (NBCCEDP) -funded Papanicolau (Pap) test between 1991 and 1998, American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) women had the highest
proportion of abnormal tests (4.4%), followed by African-Americans (3.2%), whites (3.0%), Hispanics (2.7%), and Asians/Pacific Islanders
(A/PI) (1.9%). • White women had the highest rate of serious cervical lesions
detected by biopsy (9.9 per 1,000 Pap tests), followed by Hispanics (7.6), African-Americans (7.1), AI/ANs (6.7), and A/PIs (5.4).
Source: Cervical Cancer Detection Rates by Race and Ethnicity, 2001
Press Release- http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/r010116a.htm
|
|
Cancer: Deaths |
• Almost one in every four deaths in the United States is from cancer.
Source: The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State
Perspectives 2004
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/burdenbook2004/pdf/
burden_book2004.pdf
|
| • The cancer mortality rate among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) was 193.8
for males and 139.2 for females. • Cervical cancer mortality rates were higher among
AI/ANs than among all racial/ethnic populations (3.7 and 2.6, respectively), particularly in the East and Northern Plains regions.
• Breast cancer mortality rates were lower among AI/ANs than among all racial/ethnic
populations (17.0 and 29.4, respectively), particularly in the East, Pacific Coast, and Southwest regions.
Source: Cancer Mortality Among American Indians and Alaska Natives - United States,
1994-1998
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5230a4.htm
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• Except for lung cancer in women and lung, colorectal, and breast cancer in American
Indian/Alaska Natives, trends in death rates from these cancers have generally declined.
Source: Recent Trends in Mortality Rates for Four Major Cancers, by Sex and
Race/Ethnicity-United States, 1990-1998
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5103a1.htm
|
|
Cancer: Endometrial Cancer |
• The evidence is sufficient to infer that current smoking reduces the risk of
endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women.
Source: The Health Consequences of Smoking: 2004 Report of the Surgeon General
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/
|
|
Cancer: Lung Cancer |
• Lung cancer incidence and mortality rates in men are now declining, reflecting past
patterns of cigarette use, while rates in women are still rising.
Source: The Health Consequences of Smoking: 2004 Report of the Surgeon General
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/
|
| • According to the American Cancer Society, about one-third of cancer deaths that occur
in the United States each year are due to poor nutrition, physical inactivity, obesity, or other lifestyle factors and thus could also be
prevented. • At least 30% of all cancer deaths that occur in the United States are
due to smoking.
• According to the American Cancer Society, a single behavior—cigarette smoking—is
responsible for more than 8 of every 10 cases of lung cancer.
• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women; it surpassed breast cancer
in 1987.
Source: The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State
Perspectives 2004
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/burdenbook2004/pdf/
burden_book2004.pdf
|
|
Cancer: Ovarian Cancer |
• 19,177 women
were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2002.*†
• 14,682
women died from ovarian cancer in 2002.*†
• Among U.S. women, ovarian cancer is the seventh most common cancer
and the fifth leading cause of cancer death after lung and bronchus,
breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers.
• Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female
reproductive system.
*Note: Incidence counts cover approximately 93% of the U.S. population
and death counts cover 100% of the U.S. population. Use caution in
comparing incidence and death counts.
†Source:
U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics:
2002 Incidence and Mortality Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of
Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and National Cancer Institute; 2005.
|
|
Cancer: Statistics (General)-
includes multiple topics, behavioral risks, trends, and/or summary statistics |
•
Incidence rates for all cancers combined declined in the 1990s for males
but not for females.
Source: Health, United States, 2005
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
|
|
•
Three most common cancers among women:
Breast cancer (124.9):
First among women of all racial and Hispanic origin populations.
Lung cancer:
Second among white (54.9) and American Indian/Alaska Native (32.9)
women; third among black (50.3), Asian/Pacific Islander (26.7), and
Hispanic (25.2) women.
Colorectal cancer:
Second among black (51.8), Asian/Pacific Islander (34.3), and Hispanic
(34.9) women; third among white (43.9) and American Indian/Alaska Native
women (26.8).
•
Three leading causes of cancer death among women:
Lung cancer:
First among white (42.6), black (40.2), Asian/Pacific Islander (17.6),
and American Indian/Alaska Native (27.5) women; second among Hispanic
women (14.8).
Breast cancer:
First among Hispanic women (15.7); second among white (24.9), black
(34.1), Asian/Pacific Islander (12.9), and American Indian/Alaska Native
(13.9) women.
Colorectal cancer: Third
among women of all racial and Hispanic origin populations (16.5).
Source: U.S. Cancer Statistics: 2002 Incidence and
Mortality Report
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/uscs/index.htm
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• In 2001, the
age-adjusted incidence per 100,000 population was substantially higher
for black females than for white females for certain cancers, including
colon/rectal (54.0 versus 43.3), pancreatic (13.0 versus 8.9), and
stomach (9.0 versus 4.5) cancers.
Source: Health
Disparities Experienced by Black or African Americans- United States
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5401a1.htm
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• In 2000, Hispanics had higher age-adjusted incidence for cancers of the cervix (152%
higher) and stomach (63% higher for males and 150% higher for females) than non-Hispanic whites.
Health Disparities Experienced by Hispanics- United States
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5340a1.htm
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| • The number of persons living with cancer increased from 3.0 million (1.5% of the U.S.
population) in 1971 to 9.8 million (3.5%) in 2001. • Among all cancer survivors in
2001, an estimated 14% had received a cancer diagnosis U20 years ago.
• More females than males were
[cancer] survivors, although more males than females received cancer
diagnoses.
• Among cancer survivors in 2001, the most common primary cancer type was female breast
cancer (22%), followed by prostate cancer (17%), colorectal cancer (11%), and gynecologic cancer (10%).
Source: Cancer Survivorship- United States, 1971-2001
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5324a3.htm
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This page last reviewed
February 26, 2008
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/women/natstat/cancer.htm
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