Male Urologic Cancers

U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Briefs, No. 21
December 2020

This data brief uses the most recent data available at the time of publication. More recent data may be available in a newer data brief or in the U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations tool.

During 2013–2017, one of three cancers diagnosed in men was a urologic cancer. Of 302,304 urologic cancers diagnosed each year, 67% were found in the prostate, 19% in the urinary bladder, 13% in the kidney or renal pelvis, and 3% in the testis.

Incidence

Male urologic cancer is any cancer that starts in men’s reproductive or urinary tract organs. The four most common sites where cancer is found are the prostate, urinary bladder, kidney or renal pelvis, and testis. Other sites include the penis, ureter, and urethra.

Figure 1. Age-Adjusted Incidence Rates for 4 Common Urologic Cancers Among Males, by Racial/Ethnic Group, United States, 2013–2017

Prostate cancer is the most common urologic cancer among men in all racial/ethnic groups.

Among non-Hispanic White and Asian/Pacific Islander men, bladder cancer is the second most common and kidney cancer is the third most common, but this order is switched among other racial/ethnic groups.

  • The incidence rate for prostate cancer is highest among non-Hispanic Black men.
  • The incidence rates for bladder and testicular cancers are highest among non-Hispanic White men.
  • The incidence rate for kidney cancer is highest among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native men.

Age at Diagnosis

Figure 2. Incidence Rates for 4 Common Male Urologic Cancers, by Age At Diagnosis, United States, 2013–2017

Testicular cancer is more common among young men; incidence is highest among men age 20 to 39 years and decreases in older age groups. In contrast, other urologic cancers are rare among young men, and incidence increases with age (prostate and kidney cancer rates peak at age 70 to 79 years).

Table. Median Age at Diagnosis for 4 Common Male Urologic Cancers, by Racial/Ethnic Group, United States, 2013–2017

This table illustrates median age at diagnosis for 4 common male urologic cancers by racial and ethnic group in the United States from 2013 to 2017
Testis Kidney and Renal Pelvis Prostate Urinary Bladder
All Races-Ethnicities 33 64 66 72
Non-Hispanic White 34 65 67 73
Non-Hispanic Black 35 61 64 69
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native 32 60 66 69
Non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander 31 63 68 72
Hispanic 29 60 66 71

The median age at diagnosis was different for each male urologic cancer and by racial/ethnic group.

Data Source

Data in this brief come from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics.

U.S. Cancer Statistics incidence data are from population-based registries that participate in CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and/or the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and met high-quality data criteria for the 2019 data submission period, covering 100% of the U.S. population.

Suggested Citation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Male Urologic Cancers. USCS Data Brief, no 21. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2020.