Which cancers take the most lives in the United States, and which are the hardest to survive after a diagnosis? Those sound like one question, but they are two, and they have different answers. The figures here come from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer statistics, 2026, the National Cancer Institute’s SEER Cancer Stat Facts and final 2024 death counts from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
The short answer
Lung cancer causes the most US cancer deaths: a projected 124,990 in 2026, or 20.0% of all cancer deaths. Pancreatic cancer has the lowest five year relative survival of the cancer sites on SEER’s common sites list: 13.7% for people diagnosed in 2016 to 2022, about 1 in 7.3 (our arithmetic).
Cancer overall
In 2024, 619,876 people in the United States died of cancer, out of 3,072,666 deaths from all causes, according to final NCHS data. That is 20.2% of all deaths, about 1 in 5 (our arithmetic). Only heart disease caused more, with 683,491 deaths. The American Cancer Society describes cancer as “the leading cause among people younger than 85 years” and projects 626,140 cancer deaths in 2026.
Counting by deaths
By the number of people it kills, lung cancer is far ahead. SEER’s estimates for 2026 put lung and bronchus cancer at 124,990 deaths, followed by colon and rectum cancer at 55,230 and pancreatic cancer at 52,740. Breast cancer, counting both sexes, is fourth at 42,670, and prostate cancer is fifth at 36,320. The American Cancer Society notes that lung cancer will cause more deaths in 2026 than colorectal and pancreatic cancer combined: 124,990 against 107,970 (our arithmetic).
The society reports: “Approximately 87% of lung cancers in men and 84% in women are attributable to cigarette smoking.” It also reports that in 2022, only 18% of people eligible for lung cancer screening under US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines had a screening test in the past year.
Counting by survival
The second way to count asks what share of people are alive five years after a diagnosis. SEER reports five year relative survival, which it calls “an estimate of the percentage of patients who would be expected to survive the effects of their cancer.” It excludes the risk of dying from other causes. SEER adds that these group statistics “cannot be used to predict exactly what will happen to an individual patient.”
On that measure, for people diagnosed in 2016 to 2022, pancreatic cancer is lowest on SEER’s common sites list, at 13.7%. Liver cancer follows at 21.9%, with a projected 30,980 deaths in 2026, and esophageal cancer at 22.2%, with a projected 16,290. Neither is among the five deadliest by count, which is the point: the two lists overlap only partly. Lung cancer is at 29.5%, about 1 in 3.4 (our arithmetic).
Common, and more survivable
Breast and prostate cancer show why the two counts differ. They are the two most diagnosed cancers on SEER’s list, with an estimated 333,830 new prostate cancer cases and 324,580 new breast cancer cases (both sexes) in 2026. Five year relative survival is 91.9% for breast cancer and 98.2% for prostate cancer. Even so, because so many people are diagnosed, they still rank fourth and fifth by deaths.
| Cancer | Projected US deaths, 2026 | Five year relative survival, 2016 to 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Lung and bronchus | 124,990 | 29.5% |
| Colon and rectum | 55,230 | 65.4% |
| Pancreas | 52,740 | 13.7% |
| Breast (both sexes) | 42,670 | 91.9% |
| Prostate | 36,320 | 98.2% |
Source: SEER Cancer Stat Facts (2026 estimates; survival 2016 to 2022).
For the odds of a breast or prostate cancer diagnosis, see how common breast and prostate cancer are.
The longer view
The American Cancer Society reports that five year relative survival for all cancers combined reached 70% for people diagnosed in 2015 to 2021, up from 49% in the mid 1970s.
Death rates are falling as well. NCHS reports that the age adjusted cancer death rate fell 1.7% from 2023 to 2024, from 141.8 to 139.4 deaths per 100,000 US standard population. The American Cancer Society reports that the decline in the cancer death rate through 2023 has averted 4.8 million deaths since 1991, “largely because of smoking reductions, earlier detection, and improved treatment.”
Last checked: 2026-10-22, against the American Cancer Society’s Cancer statistics, 2026, SEER Cancer Stat Facts (2026 estimates; survival 2016 to 2022) and NCHS Data Brief 548 (final 2024 deaths). 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 Siegel RL, Kratzer TB, Wagle NS, Sung H, Jemal A. “Cancer statistics, 2026.” CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2026;76(1):e70043. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.70043 . Full text: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12798275/ . Accessed Oct 22, 2026.
- S2 National Cancer Institute, SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Common Cancer Sites, and the site pages for lung and bronchus, colon and rectum, pancreas, female breast and prostate cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/common.html . Accessed Oct 22, 2026.
- S3 Xu JQ, Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Arias E. “Mortality in the United States, 2024.” NCHS Data Brief No. 548, January 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db548.htm . PDF: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db548.pdf . https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc/174641 . Accessed Oct 22, 2026.