2024 Cancer Statistics Reveal Increasing Incidence in 6 of 10 Top Cancers

“Racial disparities in cancer occurrence and outcomes are largely the result of structural racism, resulting in longstanding inequalities in wealth that lead to differences in exposure to risk factors and access to high‐quality cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment,” according to the authors.

In addition to seeing an increase in incidence for several types of cancer, progress continues to be interrupted by racial disparities that will require investment into preventative measures and equitable care, particularly for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native individuals, according to data published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

It was reported that 2,001,140 new cases of cancer and 611,720 cancer deaths are projected to occur in the United States in 2024. Notably, cancer mortality has decreased, with investigators reporting a drop of 4 million deaths from 1991 through 2021. This has been largely attributed to decreases in smoking, earlier disease detection in select cancers, and better treatment options within adjuvant and metastatic settings.

One of the notable themes of the paper was the continued presence of racial/ethnic disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes.

“Progress is also stagnant in reducing cancer disparities, especially among Black women, who have mortality rates 40% higher for breast cancer and 2 times higher for uterine corpus cancer despite similar incidence,” the authors wrote. “Further, it is no coincidence that [American Indian/Alaska Native] men and women have the highest cancer incidence and mortality as well as the highest poverty rate compared [with] other racial and ethnic groups.”

Population-based data were pulled from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. Complete cancer diagnoses were estimated for all states from 2006 to 2020; this was based on high-quality data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia—which had a population coverage of 99.7%—as well as state-level variations in several factors, including sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, medical settings, and cancer screening behaviors. Data were adjusted from March 2020 to May 2020 due to notable health care disruption during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was noted that men (41.6%) had an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with an invasive cancer compared with women (39.6%), which may be indicative of a higher exposure to carcinogenic environmental and lifestyle factors in the male population. Additionally, new diagnoses in adults 65 years and higher had gone down from 61% in 1995 to 58% in 2019/2020 despite an aging population (13% to 17%, respectively). Conversely, an increase in diagnoses was observed in the 50 to 64 years population from 25% to 30%, respectively, as well as 13% to 19% for the general population.

“The shift toward more middle‐aged patients likely in part reflects steep decreases in incidence of prostate and smoking‐related cancers among older men and increased cancer risk in people born since the 1950s associated with changing patterns in known exposures, such as higher obesity, as well as others yet to be elucidated,” the authors wrote.

Additionally, the most frequently diagnosed cancers in 2024 are estimated to be prostate cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC), which account for 48% of cancer diagnoses in men; additionally, prostate cancer diagnoses account for 29% of all cancer incidence in men. Breast cancer, lung cancer, and CRC account for just over half (51%) of all new diagnoses for women, with breast cancer being the most prevalent diagnosis (32%).

Rates of cancer incidence were noted as being 9% lower in 2020 compared with 2019 overall; this included less than 1% for testicular cancer for men and brain cancer for women, as well as 16% for melanoma in men and 18% for thyroid cancer in women. Additionally, the male-to-female cancer incidence ratio had changed from 1.59 (95% CI, 1.57-1.61) in 1992 to 1.14 (95% CI, 1.136-1.143) in 2020. Conversely, cancer incidence is notably higher in women vs men in adults younger than 50 years, although this is largely attributed to a high incidence of breast and thyroid cancer.

Prostate cancer incidence has notably decreased by approximately 40% from 2007 to 2014, which has been attributed to decreases in localized tumors via prostate-specific antigen testing. This is because of a United States Preventative Services Task Force recommendation against screening adults for prostate cancer who are 75 years and older in 2008, and for all men temporarily in 2012 in an effort to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

Breast cancer incidence in women has been increasing by approximately 0.6% every year starting from the mid-2000s, which has been attributed to the diagnosis of localized and hormone receptor–positive disease.

Cancer-related deaths were most common in men with lung cancer (20%), prostate cancer (11%), and CRC (9%), as well as lung cancer (21%), breast cancer (15%), pancreatic cancer (8%), and CRC (8%) for women. The increase was most notable in women who were younger than 50 years at 1.1% per year compared with those who were 50 years and older at 0.5% per year.

It was also reported that the 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers had gone up from 49% in the mid-1970s to 69% in 2013 to 2019. Survival was highest for thyroid cancer (99%), prostate cancer (97%), testicular cancer (95%), and melanoma (94%). Additionally, survival was lowest for pancreatic cancer (13%), liver and esophageal cancer (22%), and lung cancer (25%).

In particular, survival has been increasing for those with hematopoietic and lymphoid malignancies due to more robust treatment protocols. The 5-year relative survival rate for chronic myeloid leukemia had increased from 22% in the mid-1970s to 70% in those diagnosed from 2013 to 2019. A plethora of novel therapeutics has influenced the care of patients with metastatic melanoma, with survival increasing from 18% in 2009 to 38% in 2015.

Cancer incidence was noted as being highest among American Indian and Alaska Native individuals followed by White and Black individuals. When sex-specific incidence was examined, Black men had the highest rate from 2016 to 2020, which was 79% higher than men who were Asian American or Pacific Islander—who had the lowest incidence of any sex/race group. This was attributed to Black men having a high burden of prostate cancer, which was 68% higher than White men, 2 times higher than American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic men, and 3 times higher than Asian American/Pacific Island men.

Additionally, cancer mortality was noted as being more frequent among American Indian/Alaska Native individuals, with a 2-fold higher incidence than Asian American/Pacific Island and Hispanic individuals. Black women also had a 2-fold higher mortality incidence from uterine corpus cancer than White women, as well as a 41% higher breast cancer mortality rate despite a 4% lower incidence.

“Racial disparities in cancer occurrence and outcomes are largely the result of structural racism, resulting in longstanding inequalities in wealth that lead to differences in exposure to risk factors and access to high‐quality cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment,” the authors wrote. “Segregationist and discriminatory policies in criminal justice, housing, education, and employment continue to alter the balance of prosperity even today.”

Reference

Siegel RL, Giaquinto AN, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2024. CA Can J Clin. Published online January 17, 2024. doi:10.3322/caac.21820