The deadliest cancer types include lung cancer, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
The cancers below are listed as the overall deadliest cancers because they have the most deaths per year.
Keep in mind that the number of estimated deaths can vary between males and females.
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For example, liver cancers are a top 5 fatal cancer in males but not females.
Breast cancer is the No.
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1.
That means it’s more likely they will eventually die of the disease.
Smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer.
The disease is divided into two typessmall cell lung cancerandnon-small cell lung cancer.
Depending on the pop in and stage, treatment can include surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy.
If caught early, it’s treatable and has good five-year survival rates.
Five-year survival rates measure how many people with the condition are still living five years after they were diagnosed.
Keep in mind that these cancers are on the rise in younger people.
A colonoscopy can detect and treat colon cancer in its early stages.
Small, early-stage cancers may be removed during a colonoscopy.
Larger tumors usually call for surgery.
Sometimes it is combined with chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, and/orimmunotherapy.
These treatments shrink tumors and limit their spread.
There aren’t any reliable screening options for pancreatic cancer yet.
People with higher risk should have regular ultrasound and MRI/CT imaging tests.
It accounts for about 30% of new cancer cases in females each year.
Less than 1% of all breast cancers affect men.
Typically, it takes time for cells to become fully malignant and invade other body tissues.
When found early, breast cancer is very treatable.
The five-year relative survival rate for localized breast cancer is 99%.
Localized means there’s no sign that cancer has spread outside of the breast.
Black women often experience breast cancer diagnosis at a later stage.
Surgery can be extensive (mastectomy) or breast-conserving (lumpectomy).
In addition to breast surgery, the disease can be treated with:
5.
It is considered anadenocarcinoma.
People with this punch in of cancer may not have symptoms right away.
For this reason, doctors may take a wait-and-watch approach to treatment.
In fact, many people with prostate cancer die of unrelated causes, like a heart attack or stroke.
The five-year relative survival rate of localized prostate cancer is greater than 99%.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.FastStatsleading causes of death.
American Cancer Society.Cancer Facts & Figures 2024.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Lung cancer risk factors.
American Cancer Society.Survival rates of breast cancer.
American Cancer Society.Key statistics for prostate cancer.
American Cancer Society.Key statistics about malignant mesothelioma.
American Cancer Society.Survival rates for malignant mesothelioma.
National Brain Tumor Society.About Glioblastoma.
American Cancer Society.Survival rates for pancreatic cancer.
2022 May;72(3):202-229. doi:10.3322/caac.21718
