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Where can I find Cancer Prevalence Statistics?


Prevalence is defined as the number or percent of people alive on a certain date in a population who previously had a diagnosis of the disease. It includes new (incidence) and pre-existing cases and is a function of both past incidence and survival. Information on prevalence can be used for health planning, resource allocation, and an estimate of cancer survivorship. Overview of Cancer Prevalence contains a description of the methodology and the types of prevalence statistics.

Reports and Tools

The SEER Cancer Statistic Review, 1975-2009External Web Site Policy includes tables and figures showing Complete and Limited Duration Cancer Prevalence Estimates (PDF)External Web Site Policy which include US cancer prevalence estimates as of January 1, 2005, estimated from SEER data. Prevalence estimates are presented by cancer site, race, sex, and years since diagnosis.

Estimated US Prevalence CountsExternal Web Site Policy from the NCI's Office of Cancer Survivorship provides additional interpretation and a graphical presentation of estimated US prevalence counts.

Fast StatsExternal Web Site Policy is an interactive tool to access key SEER and US cancer statistics by age, sex, and race.

Cancer Query Systems: Cancer Prevalence Database is a Web-based program that allows you to select statistics by defining a variety of parameters.

Methods & Software for Prevalence of Cancer provides an overview of prevalence measures and software tools for calculating prevalence statistics.