Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. The only health condition that kills more people is heart disease.
In 2022 (the latest year for which there are global data), almost 10 million people died of cancer worldwide. That’s 1 out of every 6 deaths. Over 626,000 cancer deaths are projected in the U.S. in 2026. The rest happens in countries all around the world. About 7 out of every 10 deaths from the disease happen in low- or middle-income countries.
How Are Cancer Deaths Measured?
Experts sometimes measure cancer deaths as a simple count. But if you want to make comparisons between places or over time, it can help to measure it as a cancer death rate.
The death rate is the number of deaths divided by the number of people. To find out how many die for every 100,000 people, you can multiply this number by 100,000.
It’s possible for the actual number of deaths to go up at the same time that the death rate is going down. That’s what’s happening in the U.S. The number of deaths is going up as more people get older. But the cancer death rate for everyone in the country is going down.
Which Cancers Are Most Deadly?
The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2026, the top causes of cancer death will include:
- Lung cancer: 124,990 deaths
- Colorectal cancer: 55,230 deaths
- Pancreatic cancer: 52,740 deaths
- Breast cancer: 42,670 deaths
- Prostate Cancer: 36,320 deaths
- Liver cancer: 30,980 deaths
The good news is that the death rates in the U.S. are going down for lung, colorectal, prostate, liver, and breast cancers. But those for prostate and pancreatic cancers are going up.
What About Skin Cancer?
Melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer type. Experts expect 8,510 people to die from it in 2026, up from 7,180 in 2021.
In recent years, the number of melanoma cases has risen. But the death rate for melanoma dropped by 2% in women per year and 3% for men from 2008 to 2019 because of advances in treatment.
Are Cancer Deaths Rising?
The short answer is yes and no. Experts expect the number of cancer deaths in the world to keep going up. Estimates suggest that more than 16 million people will die of cancer by the year 2040. The reason is that there will be more people, and more of them will be older people. In some parts of the world, these things that play a role in certain cancers also are on the rise:
According to the American Cancer Society, the risk of dying from cancer has dropped steadily in the U.S. over the last 25 years. The death rate from 1991 to 2023 declined, dropping by 4.8 million cancer deaths. That’s mostly because people in the U.S. are smoking less. Doctors have also made advances in catching the disease early and in treating it when they find it.
Experts expect the biggest drops in U.S. cancer death rates from these seven cancer types:
