The list of common cancers includes cancers that are diagnosed with the greatest
frequency in the United States. Cancer incidence statistics from the American
Cancer Society1 and other resources were used to
create the list. To qualify as a common cancer, the estimated annual incidence
for 2004 had to be 25,000 cases or more.
The most common type of cancer on the list is non-melanoma skin cancer, with
more than 1,000,000 new cases expected in the United States in 2004.
Non-melanoma skin cancers represent about half of all cancers diagnosed in this
country.
The cancer on the list with the lowest incidence is renal cell cancer of the
kidney, with a projected incidence of over 25,000 cases in 2004. Approximately
70% of all kidney cancers are renal cell cancers.2
Because colon and rectal cancers are often referred to as "colorectal cancers,"
these two cancer types were combined on the list. For 2004, the estimated
number of new cases of colon cancer is 106,370, and the estimated number of new
cases of rectal cancer is 40,570.
Leukemia as a cancer type includes cases of acute lymphoblastic (or lymphoid)
leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic
myelogenous (or myeloid) leukemia, and other leukemia types. More than 33,000
new cases of leukemia will be diagnosed in the United States in 2004, with acute
myeloid leukemia being the most common type (approximately 12,000 new cases).
References
-
American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2004.
Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society, 2004.
Also available online. Last
accessed May 18, 2004.
-
McLaughlin JK, Lipworth L: Epidemiologic aspects of renal cell
cancer. Seminars in Oncology 21(2):115-123, 2000.
[PubMed Abstract]
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