Cancer is a major public health concern that can affect anyone. However, in the United States, certain population groups suffer more from cancer and its effects. This is known as cancer disparities or cancer health disparities. Cancer disparities happen when there are higher rates of new cancer diagnoses and/or cancer deaths between population groups. These can include different racial/ethnic, sex, age, and socioeconomic groups.
Cancer Incidence and Death Rates by Race/Ethnicity
Race/Ethnicity
SEER 18 Incidence Rates
U.S. Mortality RAtes
All Races
439.2
163.5
White
448.8
163.8
Black
453.4
189.8
Hispanic
336.3
115.0
Asian/Pacific Islander
297.9
102.0
American Indian/Alaska Native
315.1
150.4
Cancer Incidence Rates by Race/Ethnicity
a Asian/Pacific Islander, b American Indian / Alaskan Native
Cancer Death Rates by Race/Ethnicity
a Asian/Pacific Islander, b American Indian / Alaskan Native
How Many People Are Diagnosed with Cancer Each Year by Sex and Race/Ethnicity?
For all cancers combined, black men have the highest rate of new cancer diagnoses, and Asian/Pacific Islander women have the lowest rate of new cancer diagnoses. The number of new cases for men was 483.0 per 100,000 men per year. The number of new cases for women was 409.9 per 100,000 women per year. These rates are age-adjusted and based on 2011-2015 cases.
Male
All Races1
483.0
White2
488.5
Black3
535.0
Hispanic4
362.9
Asian/Pacific Islander5
303.5
American Indian/Alaska Native6
325.6
Female
All Races1
409.9
White2
423.1
Black3
397.8
Hispanic4
322.9
Asian/Pacific Islander5
298.3
American Indian/Alaska Native6
311.4
Source: SEER 18 2011-2015, Age-Adjusted Rate per 100,000
How Many People Die of Cancer Each Year by Sex and Race/Ethnicity?
Among both men and women, blacks have the highest cancer death rates, and Asian/Pacific Islander have the lowest cancer death rates. The number of deaths for men was 196.8 per 100,000 men per year. The number of deaths for women was 139.6 per 100,000 women per year. These rates are age-adjusted and based on 2011-2015 cases.
Male
All Races1
196.8
White2
196.4
Black3
239.9
Hispanic4
140.6
Asian/Pacific Islander5
121.2
American Indian/Alaska Native6
181.5
Female
All Races1
139.6
White2
140.0
Black3
159.0
Hispanic4
97.1
Asian/Pacific Islander5
88.3
American Indian/Alaska Native6
127.6
Source: U.S. Mortality 2011-2015, Age-Adjusted Rate per 100,000
Cancer Sites by Sex and Race/Ethnicity
For all cancers and races/ethnicities combined, women are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than men, but men are more likely to die from the disease.
Estimated New Cancer Cases (2018): All Races/Ethnicities
Females1
878,980 (51%)
Males2
856,370 (49%)
Estimated Cancer Deaths (2018): All Races/Ethnicities
Females1
286,010 (47%)
Males2
323,630 (53%)
Estimated New Cancer Cases (2018): All Races/Ethnicities
Estimated Cancer Deaths (2018): All Races/Ethnicities
How Do Rates of New Cancer Cases Compare by Cancer Site, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity?
The rate of new cancer cases varies significantly by specific cancer site and by race/ethnicity.
Men For all cancers combined, black men have the highest rate of new cancer diagnoses. The most common cancers in men are prostate, lung and bronchus, and colorectal. The graphs below show the trends in the number of new cases by race/ethnicity for the three most common cancer sites in men between 2006-2015.
Prostate Cancer: Number of New Cases per 100,000 Men by Race/Ethnicity
Year
White
Black
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/Alaska Native
Hispanic
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
2006
158.1
169.9
242.9
246.3
92.0
100.3
90.4
93.9
134.3
136.1
2007
162.0
158.8
252.0
244.6
96.5
93.1
91.2
87.2
133.8
132.0
2008
147.8
148.5
238.1
243.0
84.2
86.3
76.8
81.0
128.3
128.0
2009
142.7
138.8
238.6
241.4
83.0
80.1
75.2
75.3
124.9
124.1
2010
135.6
129.8
223.3
223.7
76.8
74.3
78.7
69.9
120.0
120.4
2011
133.1
121.4
217.5
207.2
76.8
69.0
60.3
64.9
111.5
108.8
2012
108.5
113.5
188.8
191.9
61.9
64.0
57.9
60.3
96.0
98.4
2013
102.5
106.1
176.9
177.8
57.4
59.4
57.4
56.0
86.1
89.0
2014
93.0
99.2
156.7
164.7
50.1
55.1
53.0
52.0
80.5
80.5
2015
93.9
92.7
157.6
152.5
52.4
51.1
46.9
48.3
74.7
72.8
Prostate Cancer: Number of New Cases per 100,000 Men by Race/Ethnicity
Women For all cancers combined, white women have the highest rate of new cancer diagnoses. The most common cancers in women are breast, lung and bronchus, and colorectal. The graphs below show the trends in the number of new cases by race/ethnicity for the three most common cancer sites in women between 2006-2015.
Female Breast Cancer: Number of New Cases per 100,000 Women by Race/Ethnicity
Year
White
Black
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/Alaska Native
Hispanic
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
2006
126.3
128.2
120.0
122.9
90.2
92.6
77.6
79.4
88.0
88.4
2007
128.9
128.2
125.3
123.4
94.5
93.7
77.1
79.9
89.1
88.9
2008
129.3
128.3
124.2
124.0
98.0
94.8
79.1
80.4
89.6
89.3
2009
130.5
128.3
128.4
124.5
94.8
96.0
86.0
81.0
88.5
89.8
2010
126.0
128.4
121.4
125.1
97.1
97.1
83.5
81.5
85.8
90.3
2011
128.9
128.4
125.6
125.6
98.4
98.3
83.5
82.0
95.9
90.7
2012
128.4
128.5
127.2
126.2
98.3
99.4
85.5
82.5
92.2
91.2
2013
128.8
128.5
127.0
126.8
102.5
100.6
75.3
83.0
93.3
91.7
2014
128.2
128.6
127.1
127.3
100.2
101.8
86.1
83.5
92.2
92.2
2015
128.6
128.6
127.4
127.9
103.3
103.0
83.1
84.1
90.3
92.7
Female Breast Cancer: Number of New Cases per 100,000 Women by Race/Ethnicity
How Do Cancer Death Rates Compare by Cancer Site, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity?
Cancer death rates vary significantly by specific cancer site and by race/ethnicity.
Men Black men have the highest death rate for all cancer sites combined. The most common causes of cancer death in men are lung and bronchus, prostate, and colorectal cancer. The graphs below show the trends in the number of deaths by race/ethnicity for the three most common causes of cancer death in men between 2006-2015.
Male Lung and Bronchus Cancer: Number of Deaths per 100,000 Men by Race/Ethnicity
Year
White
Black
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/Alaska Native
Hispanic
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
2006
67.0
66.9
83.9
84.2
37.0
37.4
44.5
51.6
32.7
33.5
2007
64.8
65.1
82.2
81.3
36.1
36.5
52.3
50.6
32.0
32.4
2008
63.5
63.3
78.2
78.5
36.3
35.5
57.0
49.7
32.5
31.3
2009
61.4
61.5
75.5
75.8
34.9
34.6
45.9
48.8
30.2
30.3
2010
59.9
59.8
73.5
73.3
33.5
33.8
48.9
47.9
29.5
29.3
2011
57.8
58.1
70.0
70.8
33.0
32.9
47.7
47.0
29.0
28.4
2012
56.1
56.0
68.9
68.3
32.6
32.1
46.9
46.1
27.1
27.5
2013
53.9
53.9
66.0
66.0
30.8
31.3
44.0
45.2
26.5
26.6
2014
52.0
51.9
62.5
62.5
30.0
30.5
44.3
44.4
25.5
25.7
2015
49.9
50.0
59.1
59.1
30.0
29.7
42.6
43.6
24.9
24.9
Male Lung and Bronchus Cancer: Number of Deaths per 100,000 Men by Race/Ethnicity
Women Black women have the highest death rate for all cancer sites combined, however, rates vary significantly by specific cancer site. The most common causes of cancer death in women are lung and bronchus, breast, and colorectal cancer. The graphs below show the trends in the number of deaths by race/ethnicity for the three most common causes of cancer death in women between 2006-2015.
Female Lung and Bronchus Cancer: Number of Deaths per 100,000 Women by Race/Ethnicity
Year
White
Black
Asian/Pacific Islander
American Indian/Alaska Native
Hispanic
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
Rate
Modeled Rate
2006
41.4
41.5
39.1
38.6
18.2
18.7
33.3
34.3
14.1
14.5
2007
41.3
41.0
38.1
38.0
19.0
18.6
34.1
33.7
15.0
14.3
2008
40.4
40.5
36.9
37.3
18.1
18.4
35.9
33.2
14.3
14.1
2009
40.0
40.0
35.9
36.6
18.3
18.3
31.8
32.7
13.7
14.0
2010
39.2
39.2
36.3
36.0
18.1
18.2
31.1
32.2
13.7
13.8
2011
38.2
38.3
35.4
35.4
18.5
18.0
30.2
31.7
13.3
13.7
2012
37.6
37.5
34.7
34.7
17.8
17.9
32.1
31.2
13.6
13.5
2013
36.6
36.7
34.1
34.1
18.1
17.8
31.4
30.7
13.2
13.4
2014
36.0
35.9
32.8
32.5
17.7
17.6
29.5
30.2
13.5
13.2
2015
34.9
35.1
30.8
30.9
17.1
17.5
30.0
29.7
13.1
13.1
Female Lung and Bronchus Cancer: Number of Deaths per 100,000 Women by Race/Ethnicity
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program's Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc) is statistical software designed to generate multiple summary measures to evaluate and monitor health disparities.
The Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) is central to NCI's efforts to reduce the unequal burden of cancer in our society and train the next generation of competitive researchers in cancer and cancer health disparities research.
The National Center for Health Statistics website provides US public health statistics including disease, pregnancies, births, aging, and mortality.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Health Dispariities in Cancer. Provides basic information, factsheets, and information on future research focus.
References
All statistics in this report are based on statistics from SEER and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Most can be found within:
Noone AM, Howlader N, Krapcho M, Miller D, Brest A, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Mariotto A, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2015, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2015/, based on November 2017 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, April 2018.
Suggested Citation
All material in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.
SEER Cancer Statistics Factsheets: Common Cancer Sites. National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/disparities.html