Top 10 Cancer Sites by Incidence, United States
Prostate, female breast, lung, and colorectal (colon) cancers remained the most common in 2005.* Learn how to reduce your risks of these and other cancers.
The 10 most commonly diagnosed cancers remained the same in 2005* as in previous years, and included prostate cancer, female breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal (colon) cancer, uterine cancer, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanomas of the skin, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Top Three Cancers by Sex
Lung and colorectal (colon) cancers were the second and third, respectively, most commonly diagnosed cancers in both men and women, although men had much higher incidence rates. In 2005, 84.6 men and 55.2 women out of every 100,000 were diagnosed with lung cancer, and 56.4 men and 41.9 women out of every 100,000 were diagnosed with colorectal (colon) cancer. The most frequently diagnosed cancer among men was prostate cancer, and among women was breast cancer.
Top Three Cancers by Race or Ethnicity
The top three cancers also stayed fairly consistent among various racial and ethnic groups. Black, white, and American Indian/Alaska Native people all had prostate, female breast, and lung cancers as the three most common cancers in 2005. Asians and Pacific Islanders were most likely to be diagnosed with female breast cancer, followed by prostate and lung cancers. Among Hispanics, incidence rates were highest for prostate, breast, colorectal (colon), and lung cancers.
Reducing Risk
Some types of cancer can be prevented with a vaccine or found early through screening. Learn how to reduce your risk of getting these cancers by visiting Preventive Cancer Screening and Vaccination.
Data source: U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2005 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2009. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.
*The most recent year for which statistics are currently available.
