Cancer in North America

Cancer is the leading cause of premature death in North America. An estimated 2.1 million new cancer cases and 701,000 cancer deaths occur in North America each year. The region contributes almost twice the proportion of cases compared to deaths globally (13% versus 7%) in large part because of high access to early detection and treatment.

Cancer patterns are similar in the United States and Canada, reflecting a shared prevalence of risk factors. Incidence is low for infection-related cancers, almost half of which are attributable to human papillomavirus, and high for cancers associated with unhealthy behavioral factors like smoking, excess body fatness, and sedentary lifestyle. The most common cancers are breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal (Figure 25.1).

Young-onset colorectal cancer is on the rise, now the leading cause of cancer death among young men and the second leading cause among young women in the United States.

Despite decades of decline, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death, accounting for more deaths in 2022 than colorectal (second) and pancreatic (third) cancers combined (Figure 25.1). Women in North America have the highest lung cancer incidence in 20 United Nations regions, in part because of slower cessation and smoking upticks in those born in the middle of last century, whereas men rank seventh. Consequently, lung cancer incidence in women is higher than in men among people ages 35-64 years in the United States. Rates also vary dramatically by state, province, and territory (Map 25.1).

Incidence for many other cancers is increasing during the most recent period, including prostate and breast, the two most common cancers (Figure 25.2).

The rise in breast cancer incidence is partly attributed to increased body weight, which also may have contributed to increasing trends in early-onset colorectal cancer (see Colorectal Cancer), pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, and uterine corpus cancer in the region (Figure 25.3).