Lifetime Risk of Developing or Dying From Cancer


The lifetime risk of developing or dying from cancer refers to the chance a person has, over the course of his or her lifetime (from birth to death), of being diagnosed with or dying from cancer. These risk estimates are one way to measure of how widespread cancer is in the United States.
The following tables list lifetime risks of developing and dying from certain cancers for men and women in the US. The information is from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, and is based on incidence and mortality data for the United States from 2014 through 2016, the most recent years for which data are available.
The risk is expressed both in terms of a percentage and as odds.

  • For example, the risk that a man will develop cancer pf the pancreas during his lifetime is 1.66%. This means he has about 1 chance in 60 of developing pancreatic cancer (100/1.66 = 60).
  • Put another way, 1 out of every 60 men in the United States will develop pancreatic cancer during his lifetime.
These numbers are average risks for the overall US population. Your risk may be higher or lower than these numbers, depending on your particular risk factors.

Males

Risk of developing Risk of dying from
% 1 in % 1 in
All invasive sites 40.14 2 21.34 5
Bladder (includes in situ) 3.86 26 0.93 108
Brain and nervous system 0.69 145 0.53 189
Breast 0.13 769 0.03 3,333
Colon and rectum 4.41 23 1.83 55
Esophagus 0.80 125 0.76 132
Hodgkin lymphoma 0.24 417 0.04 2,500
Kidney and renal pelvis 2.16 46 0.60 167
Larynx (voice box) 0.53 189 0.19 526
Leukemia 1.86 54 0.96 104
Liver and bile duct 1.44 69 1.02 98
Lung and bronchus 6.70 15 5.49 18
Melanoma of the skin 2.77 36 0.39 256
Multiple myeloma 0.93 108 0.47 213
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 2.43 41 0.81 123
Oral cavity and pharynx 1.66 60 0.42 238
Pancreas 1.66 60 1.39 72
Prostate 11.60 9 2.44 41
Stomach 1.07 93 0.45 222
Testicles 0.40 250 0.02 5,000
Thyroid 0.70 143 0.06 1,667

Females

Risk of developing Risk of dying from
% 1 in % 1 in
All invasive sites 38.70 3 18.33 5
Bladder (includes in situ) 1.18 85 0.35 286
Brain and nervous system 0.55 182 0.42 238
Breast 12.83 8 2.57 39
Cervix 0.63 159 0.22 455
Colon and rectum 4.08 25 1.68 60
Esophagus 0.24 417 0.20 500
Hodgkin lymphoma 0.20 500 0.03 3,333
Kidney and renal pelvis 1.23 81 0.33 303
Larynx (voice box) 0.13 769 0.05 2,000
Leukemia 1.29 78 0.68 147
Liver and bile duct 0.62 161 0.54 185
Lung and bronchus 6.05 17 4.50 22
Melanoma of the skin 1.79 56 0.19 526
Multiple myeloma 0.71 141 0.38 263
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 1.93 52 0.64 156
Oral cavity and pharynx 0.71 141 0.19 526
Ovary 1.25 80 0.88 114
Pancreas 1.60 63 1.35 74
Stomach 0.66 152 0.30 333
Thyroid 1.93 52 0.07 1,429
Uterus 3.07 33 0.63 159

 

The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team

Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Last Medical Review: January 13, 2020 Last Revised: January 13, 2020

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