Common Cancer Types
This list of common cancer types includes cancers that are diagnosed with the greatest frequency in the United States, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers:
Cancer incidence and mortality statistics reported by the American Cancer Society1 and other resources were used to create the list. To qualify as a common cancer for the list, the estimated annual incidence for 2020 had to be 40,000 cases or more.
The most common type of cancer on the list is breast cancer, with 279,100 new cases expected in the United States in 2020. The next most common cancers are lung cancer and prostate cancer.
Because colon and rectal cancers are often referred to as "colorectal cancers," these two cancer types are combined for the list. For 2020, the estimated number of new cases of colon cancer and rectal cancer are 104,610 and 43,340, respectively, adding to a total of 147,950 new cases of colorectal cancer.
The following table gives the estimated numbers of new cases and deaths for each common cancer type:
| Cancer Type | Estimated New Cases | Estimated Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Bladder | 81,400 | 17,980 |
| Breast (Female – Male) | 276,480 – 2,620 | 42,170 – 520 |
| Colon and Rectal (Combined) | 147,950 | 53,200 |
| Endometrial | 65,620 | 12,590 |
| Kidney (Renal Cell and Renal Pelvis) Cancer | 73,750 | 14,830 |
| Leukemia (All Types) | 60,530 | 23,100 |
| Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct | 42,810 | 30,160 |
| Lung (Including Bronchus) | 228,820 | 135,720 |
| Melanoma | 100,350 | 6,850 |
| Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma | 77,240 | 19,940 |
| Pancreatic | 57,600 | 47,050 |
| Prostate | 191,930 | 33,330 |
| Thyroid | 52,890 | 2,180 |
References
- American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2020. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society, 2020. Also available online. Last accessed September 25, 2020.