Kinds of Cancer

CDC provides basic information and statistics about some of the most common cancers in the United States.

Bladder

Bladder cancer risk factors include smoking, genetic mutations, and exposure to certain chemicals.

Breast

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Getting mammograms regularly can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer. Talk to your doctor about when to start and how often to get a screening mammogram.

Cervical

Cervical cancer is highly preventable in most Western countries because screening tests and a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are available.

Colorectal

Of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon and rectum) is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are 50 years old or older, get screened now.

Gynecologic

Five main types of cancer affect a woman’s reproductive organs: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar. As a group, they are referred to as gynecologic cancers.

Head and Neck

Cancers of the head and neck include cancers that start in several places in the head and throat, not including brain cancers or cancers of the eye.

Kidney

Smoking is the most important risk factor for kidney and renal pelvis cancers. To lower your risk, don’t smoke, or quit if you do. Be very careful if you work with the chemical trichloroethylene.

Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood (white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets). Leukemia is the most common kind of cancer among children and teens.

Liver

To lower your risk for liver cancer, get vaccinated against Hepatitis B, get tested for Hepatitis C, and avoid drinking too much alcohol.

Lung

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and the second most common cancer among both men and women in the United States. The most important thing you can do to lower your lung cancer risk is to quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.

Lymphoma

The two main kinds of lymphoma are Hodgkin lymphoma, which spreads in an orderly manner from one group of lymph nodes to another; and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which spreads through the lymphatic system in a non-orderly manner.

Myeloma

Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells. In myeloma, the cells grow too much, forming a mass or tumor that is located in the bone marrow.

Ovarian

Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. But when ovarian cancer is found in its early stages, treatment works best.

Prostate

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. Most prostate cancers grow slowly, and don’t cause any health problems in men who have them. Learn more and talk to your doctor before you decide to get tested or treated for prostate cancer.

Skin

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Most cases of melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, are caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. To lower your skin cancer risk, protect your skin from the sun and avoid indoor tanning.

Thyroid

To lower the risk of thyroid cancer, avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation, including radiation from medical imaging procedures, especially in young children, and especially around the head and neck.

Uterine

Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women in the United States and the most commonly diagnosed gynecologic cancer.

Vaginal and vulvar

Vaginal and vulvar cancers are rare, but all women are at risk for these cancers.