Data Visualizations Tool Technical Notes

The impact of cancer

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States1 and 608,366 people living in the United States died from this disease in 2022.2 The 2024 release of United States Cancer Statistics data indicates that, in 2021 (the most recent year of incidence data available), 1,777,566 people living in the United States received a new diagnosis of invasive cancer. These counts do not include in situ cancers, benign and borderline brain and central nervous system tumors, and basal and squamous cell skin cancers.A As of January 1, 2021, an estimated 14 million people living in the United States were alive with a history of invasive cancer diagnosed in the past 20 years.3

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Medical Expenditure Panel Survey estimates that for 2021, the direct medical costs for cancer, including all health care expenditures, were $146 billion.3

Cancer prevention

Several primary and secondary prevention measures could substantially reduce the number of new cancer cases and prevent many cancer-related deaths. To reduce the nation's cancer burden, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) aims to monitor and reduce factors that may increase cancer risk. CDC supports partners to make high-quality screening services and referral to treatment available and accessible to everyone, including medically underserved populations.45 CDC supports the development of comprehensive cancer control plans,6 which include proven strategies and planned actions to prevent cancer.

How cancer data are collected

Incidence data

Cancer is a mandatory reportable disease in the United States. Cancer registries collect population-based data about:78

• The occurrence of cancer (incidence).
• The types of cancer (morphology).
• The site in the body where the cancer first occurred (primary site).
• The extent of disease at the time of diagnosis (stage).
• The planned first course of treatment.
• The outcome of treatment and clinical management (survival and vital status).

These cancer reports are sent to central cancer registries at the state or territory level from a variety of medical facilities, including hospitals, physicians' offices, radiation facilities, freestanding surgical centers, and pathology laboratories.

Death (mortality) data

Death data, including deaths due to cancer, are recorded on death certificates that are sent to state or territory vital statistics offices. Death data include information regarding primary cancer site, and may also include morphology, according to International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).

Uses of cancer data

Cancer data are critical for directing effective cancer prevention and control programs. These programs focus, in part, on preventing behaviors that may put people at an increased risk for cancer (such as tobacco use), and on reducing environmental risk factors (such as exposure to things known to cause cancer).

Cancer information is essential for deciding where to have cancer screening programs and making long-term plans for diagnostic and treatment services. Data at the national, state or territory, congressional district, and county levels help public health officials prioritize and monitor public health efforts and track progress toward Healthy People objectives.

Contributors

CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and CDC's National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) contributed to U.S. Cancer Statistics data.

Partners crucial to the success of cancer registration and cancer surveillance in the United States include the American Cancer Society, the American College of Surgeons, the American Joint Committee on Cancer, the National Cancer Registrars Association, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.

Resources

Data sources

Sources of data on cancer incidence, mortality, population denominators, screening, HPV vaccination, and risk factors are described on the following pages.

Registries that met U.S. Cancer Statistics publication criteria

See a list of registries that met U.S. Cancer Statistics publication criteria during each year the report has been published.

Statistical methods

The following pages describe statistical methods used in U.S. Cancer Statistics.

Interpreting the data

These pages provide guidance and precautions when interpretating U.S. Cancer Statistics data.