U.S. Cancer Statistics: Highlights from 2019 Incidence
U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Briefs, No. 29
June 2022
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.
In 2019, a total of 1,752,735 new invasive cancer cases were reported in the United States: 863,830 among females and 888,905 among males. For all cancers combined, the incidence rate was 439 per 100,000 standard population overall. It was 415 per 100,000 among females and 474 per 100,000 among males.
Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) produce updated U.S. Cancer Statistics data. These data are the official federal cancer statistics for the United States. The U.S. Cancer Statistics provides cancer information on the U.S. population. Information about new cancer cases (incidence) comes from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The latest data release includes cancers diagnosed through 2019.
While cancer affects people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and sexes, it does not affect all groups equally. Differences in genetics, healthy choices, environmental exposures, and other factors can lead to differences in risk among groups of people. For most cancers, increasing age is the most important risk factor. Overall, 58% of cancers were found in adults aged 65 years or older. The percentage of cases by age group varied by racial and ethnic group.
While overall, males have a higher rate of cancer than females, this differs by age. Among children younger than 15 years, boys have a slightly higher rate of getting cancer than girls. Among adolescents and young adults between 15 and 39 years old and adults between 40 and 54 years old, women have a higher rate of getting cancer than men. Among adults aged 55 years or older, men have a higher rate of getting cancer than women.
The Data Visualizations tool makes it easy for anyone to explore and use the latest cancer data.
You can use this tool to create interactive graphics examining—
- New cancer cases and cancer deaths by—
- State, county, and Congressional district.
- Sex, age, race, ethnicity, and year.
- Number and percentage of new cancer cases by stage at diagnosis.
- Survival statistics by stage at diagnosis (by state).
- Number of cancer survivors—also called prevalence (by state).
- Percentage of people who are up to date on colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer screening (by state and county).
Researchers can use SEER*Stat software to analyze incidence data from the entire United States with the Public Use Databases.
Data Sources
Data in this brief come from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics. Invasive cancer excludes basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin except when these occur on the skin of the genital organs, benign and borderline brain and central nervous system tumors, and in situ cancers except urinary bladder. Urinary bladder cancer includes invasive and in situ.
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 2021 data submission, covering 99% of the U.S. population (excluding data from Nevada).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. United States Cancer Statistics: Highlights from 2019 Incidence. USCS Data Brief, no. 29. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2022.