How many women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives, how many men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and what happens after a diagnosis?
For US women, about 13.0 percent will be diagnosed with female breast cancer during their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute’s SEER program, based on 2021 to 2023 data. That is about 1 in 8 (our arithmetic).
For US men, about 13.2 percent will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, according to SEER, based on 2021 to 2023 data. That is about 1 in 8 (our arithmetic).
Those are two figures for two different groups, women and men, so this page reports each for its own population and does not rank them against each other. Men can also develop breast cancer, although rarely, SEER notes; the breast cancer figures here cover women only. Every figure below comes from SEER’s Cancer Stat Facts pages, saved on Oct 20, 2026, unless it says otherwise.
Breast cancer in US women
About 13.0 percent of US women will be diagnosed with female breast cancer at some point during their lifetime, based on SEER data for 2021 to 2023.
SEER puts the rate of new female breast cancer cases at 132.5 per 100,000 women per year, age adjusted, based on 2019 to 2023 cases. The death rate was 18.9 per 100,000 women per year, age adjusted, based on 2020 to 2024 deaths.
For 2026, SEER reports American Cancer Society projections of 321,910 new cases of female breast cancer in the US and 42,140 deaths from it, estimates made from earlier data rather than counts.
The median age at diagnosis is 64, and women ages 65 to 74 account for the largest share of new cases, 27.5 percent (SEER 21 areas, 2019 to 2023).
Five year relative survival is 91.9 percent, based on SEER 21 areas excluding Illinois, for 2016 to 2022. Relative survival estimates the share of patients who survive the effects of their cancer, leaving out the risk of dying from other causes. For the 64 percent diagnosed at the localized stage, confined to where the cancer started, it is 100.0 percent; for the 6 percent diagnosed after it has spread to distant parts of the body, it is 33.8 percent (same basis).
SEER’s modeled trends show age adjusted rates of new cases rising on average 0.7 percent a year over 2014 to 2023, and death rates falling on average 1.2 percent a year over 2015 to 2024. The observed US death rate, age adjusted, was 31.45 per 100,000 women in 1975 and 18.65 in 2024.
Prostate cancer in US men
SEER puts the rate of new prostate cancer cases at 123.2 per 100,000 men per year, age adjusted, based on 2019 to 2023 cases. The death rate was 18.9 per 100,000 men per year, age adjusted, based on 2020 to 2024 deaths.
For 2026, the American Cancer Society projections reported by SEER are 333,830 new cases of prostate cancer in the US and 36,320 deaths from it.
The median age at diagnosis is 68, and men ages 65 to 74 account for the largest share of new cases, 43.3 percent (SEER 21 areas, 2019 to 2023).
Five year relative survival is 98.2 percent, based on SEER 21 areas excluding Illinois, for 2016 to 2022. For the 69.5 percent diagnosed at the local stage, it is 100.0 percent; for the 9 percent diagnosed after the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, it is 40.1 percent (same basis).
SEER’s modeled trends show age adjusted rates of new cases rising on average 2.7 percent a year over 2014 to 2023, and death rates falling on average 0.8 percent a year over 2015 to 2024. The observed US death rate, age adjusted, was 30.94 per 100,000 men in 1975 and 18.40 in 2024.
What screening has to do with the prostate numbers
SEER’s prostate page says that because screening for prostate cancer exists, most of the time the cancer is caught before it spreads. NCI’s patient summary on prostate cancer screening says there is no standard or routine screening test for prostate cancer, and that a PSA blood test or a digital rectal exam may find it early, but it is not clear whether early detection and treatment lower the risk of dying from it.
The same summary says some prostate cancers never cause symptoms or become life threatening, and that finding these through screening is called overdiagnosis. It names erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence as the most common long term side effects of treatments such as surgery to remove the prostate and radiation therapy. These lines report what NCI says; they are not advice.
Research funding
NCI publishes its research funding by disease area on its Funding for Research Areas page. NCI’s FY2024 estimate, as listed on that page, is $542.0 million in research funding for breast cancer and $258.6 million for prostate cancer, out of $7.2 billion in funds available to NCI in fiscal 2024. The breast cancer figure is about 2.1 times the prostate cancer figure, both in NCI research dollars (our arithmetic). NCI notes that research areas overlap, so one project can count toward several, and the table covers NCI only, not all federal cancer research.
Data limits
Each lifetime risk applies to its own population, US women or US men, which is why the two are not compared here. The “1 in 8” odds are our arithmetic from SEER’s percentages. The current rates are age adjusted averages over several years, and the 2026 numbers are projections. SEER cautions that statistics based on large groups of people cannot be used to predict exactly what will happen to an individual patient. SEER updates these pages each spring; this page uses the copies saved on Oct 20, 2026. Our page on which state has the highest tuberculosis rate also reports rates as cases per 100,000 people.
The short version
About 13.0 percent of US women will be diagnosed with female breast cancer during their lifetime (SEER, 2021 to 2023 data), about 1 in 8 (our arithmetic), and five year relative survival for female breast cancer is 91.9 percent (SEER 21 areas excluding Illinois, 2016 to 2022).
About 13.2 percent of US men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime (SEER, 2021 to 2023 data), about 1 in 8 (our arithmetic), and five year relative survival for prostate cancer is 98.2 percent (SEER 21 areas excluding Illinois, 2016 to 2022).
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Last checked: 2026-10-20, against the National Cancer Institute’s SEER Cancer Stat Facts for female breast cancer and prostate cancer, NCI’s prostate cancer screening summary and NCI’s Funding for Research Areas page. This article was machine-checked against the sources above and has not been expert-reviewed. Spotted an error or a newer public figure? Please tell us on our contact page with the article link and we will review it.
Sources
- S1 National Cancer Institute, SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer (lifetime risk 2021 to 2023 data; rates 2019 to 2023 cases and 2020 to 2024 deaths; survival SEER 21 excluding Illinois, 2016 to 2022; 2026 projections by the American Cancer Society). https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html . Saved copy accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- S2 National Cancer Institute, SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Prostate Cancer (same bases as S1). https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html . Saved copy accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- S3 National Cancer Institute, Prostate Cancer Screening (PDQ), Patient Version, updated Dec 10, 2024. https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/patient/prostate-screening-pdq . Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- S4 National Cancer Institute, 2025 NCI Budget Fact Book, Funding for Research Areas, updated June 4, 2026. https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget/fact-book/data/research-funding . Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- S5 National Cancer Institute, Contact NCI: NCI’s Cancer Information Service. https://www.cancer.gov/contact . Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- Method: the “1 in 8” odds are Book of Odds arithmetic from the lifetime risk percentages in S1 and S2, and the funding ratio is Book of Odds arithmetic from S4.