In the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute in 2010, the most common cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) are listed below.

Cancer type	Estimated new cases	Estimated deaths
Bladder	70,530	14,680
Breast (female-male)	207,090-1,970	39,840-390
Colon and rectal (combined)	142,570	51,370
Endometrial	43,470	7,950
Kidney (renal cell)	53,581	11,997
Leukemia	43,050	21,840
Lung (including bronchus)	222,520	157,300
Melanoma	68,130	8,700
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	65,540	20,210
Pancreatic	43,140	36,800
Prostate	217,730	32,050
Thyroid	44,670	1,690

The three most common cancers in men, women and children in the U.S. are as follows:

• Men: Prostate, lung, and colorectal
• Women: Breast, colorectal, and lung
• Children: Leukemia, brain tumors, and lymphoma

The incidence of cancer and cancer types are influenced by many factors such as age, sex, race, local environmental factors, diet, and genetics. Consequently, the incidence of cancer and cancer types vary depending on these variable factors. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) provides the following general information about cancer worldwide:

• Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. It accounted for 7.4 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2004 (statistics published in 2009).
• Lung, stomach, liver, colon, and breast cancer cause the most cancer deaths each year.
• Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 12 million deaths in 2030.

Different areas of the world may have cancers that are either more or less predominant then those found in the U.S. One example is that stomach cancer is often found in Japan, while it is rarely found in the U.S.

The objective of this article is to introduce the reader to general aspects of cancers. It is designed to be an overview of cancer and cannot cover every cancer type. This article will also attempt to help guide the reader to more detailed sources about specific cancer types. 

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