nci logo
NIH
U.S. National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute

Cancer Prevalence

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 PrevalenceExternal Web Site Policy contains a description of the methodology and the types of prevalence statistics.

Access a variety of published reports and research toolsExternal Web Site Policy for finding prevalence statistics.