2020: Cancer in the U.S.

Data collected from cancer registries help chart the national burden of cancer.

by Bradley Jones
December 18, 2020

This graphic shows the estimated number of new cancer diagnoses by state, divided by the state's population. The data used are not adjusted by age, so states with a higher percentage of older adults will show a higher incidence of new cancer diagnoses.

MONITORING CANCER ON A NATIONAL LEVEL is no easy feat. The rigors of gathering, compiling, checking and disseminating information mean that the most current reported incidence and mortality data typically lag two to four years behind the current year.

However, the American Cancer Society produces annual estimates, drawing from large pools of data collected from patients across the country to project the burden of cancer in the U.S. for each year. The incidence data used to inform the estimates below comes from three sources: the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.

279,100 new cases of breast cancer

228,820 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer

191,930 new cases of prostate cancer

147,950 new cases of colorectal cancer

100,350 new cases of melanoma of the skin

85,720 new cases of lymphoma

81,400 new cases of bladder cancer

73,750 new cases of kidney and renal pelvis cancer

65,620 new cases of endometrial cancer

60,530 new cases of leukemia

57,600 new cases of pancreatic cancer

53,260 new cases of oral cavity and pharynx cancer