There were more than 154,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed between 2001 and 2005 in Virginia. The rate of new cancer cases diagnosed, or incidence rate, is 428 cases per 100,000 people each year during that five-year period. An estimated 35,590 cases are expected to occur in Virginia in 2008.
Cancer is more likely to occur with age. The cancer incidence rate is 15 times greater in adults 50 and older than adults under age 50.
Men are diagnosed with cancer at a higher rate than women (Figure 1).
More new cases of cancer occur in whites. However, the rate of new cases for blacks (457 per 100,000) is higher than that of whites (422 per 100,000) (Figure 1).
The top three commonly diagnosed cancer in men are prostate cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, and colon and rectum cancer. The top three commonly diagnosed cancer in women are breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, and colon and rectum cancer (Figure 2).
Figure 1 - Cancer (All Sites) Incidence Rate by Sex and Race, Virginia, 2001-2005
Source: Virginia Cancer Registry. Rates (per 100,000) are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Excludes basal and squamous cell skin cancers and in situ carcinomas except urinary bladder. 95% confidence intervals are shown.
Figure 2 - Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers for Men and Women in Virginia
Source: Virginia Cancer Registry. The number of cancer cases by site and their percentage of the total number of cases reported are shown.
If you are having trouble reading Figure 2 data, click here to download the PDF version.
For information on cancer incidence in the U.S. and other states, go to the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) website (http://seer.cancer.gov/)
