National Cancer Institute Home at the National Institutes of Health | www.cancer.gov

Where can I find Cancer Mortality Statistics?


A cancer mortality rate is the number of deaths, with cancer as the underlying cause of death, occurring in a specified population during a year. Cancer mortality is usually expressed as the number of deaths due to cancer per 100,000 population. That is,

Mortality Rate = (Cancer Deaths / Population) × 100,000

The numerator of the mortality rate is the number of deaths; the denominator is the size of the population. The population used depends on the rate to be calculated. For cancer sites that occur in only one sex, the sex-specific population (e.g., females for cervical cancer) is used. The mortality rate can be computed for a given cancer site or for all cancers combined.

Reports and Monographs

Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2009External Web Site Policy provides an update on the trends in cancer incidence and death rates in the United States.

SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009External Web Site Policy includes tables and figures showing Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity (PDF)External Web Site Policy as well as rates by sex, age, and year of diagnosis for major cancers.

US Cancer Statistics, 1999-2007 Incidence & MortalityExternal Web Site Policy provides the most comprehensive federal data available to date on state-specific cancer mortality rates.

Cancer Epidemiology in Older Adolescents and Young Adults 15 to 29 Years of AgeExternal Web Site Policy presents detailed information about cancer incidence and outcomes in adolescents and young adults. It was developed to gather population-based incidence, mortality, and survival data specific to cancers that occur in this population, along with epidemiological data and risk factors for the development of age-specific cancers

SEER Statistical PublicationsExternal Web Site Policy provide cancer incidence, mortality, and survival data on relevant topics such as socioeconomic variations, prostate cancer, racial/ethnic patterns of cancer, and childhood cancers.

Research Tools for Mortality Statistics

Methods & Software for Cancer Mortality provides an overview of mortality rates and software tools for calculating mortality statistics.

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

State Cancer ProfilesExternal Web Site Policy is a comprehensive system of interactive maps and graphs enabling the investigation of cancer trends at the national, state, and county level.

Cancer Query Systems: Mortality StatisticsExternal Web Site Policy is a Web-based program that allows you to select statistics by defining various parameters.