This data table lists the most common types of cancer in the United States, and includes information on the known or likely carcinogens, estimated cases per year, and estimated deaths per year in 2014.
| Cancer in the United States (Ranked by number of cases) | |||
| Cancer | Known or Likely Carcinogenes or Factors | Estimated cases (2014) | Estimated deaths (2014) |
| Breast | Estrogen; possibly dietary fat | 235,000 | 40,400 |
| Prostate | Testosterone; possibly dietary fat | 233,000 | 29,500 |
| Lung | Cigarette smoke | 224,000 | 159,000 |
| Colon and rectum | High dietary fat; low dietary fiber | 136,800 | 50,310 |
| Skin | Ultraviolet light | 81,200 | 13,000 |
| Lymphomas | Viruses (for some types) | 80,000 | 20,100 |
| Bladder | Cigarette smoke | 74,700 | 15,600 |
| Uterus | Estrogen | 65,000 | 12,600 |
| Kidney | Cigarette smoke | 63,900 | 13,900 |
| Leukemias | X-rays; benzene; viruses (for some types) | 52,400 | 24,100 |
| Pancreas | Cigarette smoke | 46,400 | 39,600 |
| Liver | Alcohol; hepatitis viruses | 33,200 | 23,000 |
| Brain and nerve | Trauma; X-rays | 23,400 | 14,300 |
| Stomach | Table salt; cigarette smoke | 22,200 | 11,000 |
| Ovary | Large number of ovulation cycles | 22,000 | 14,300 |
| Cervix | Viruses; cigarette smoke | 12,400 | 4,000 |
| All other types | 259,940 | 101,010 | |
| Total | 1,665,540 | 585,720 | |
| Data from: Cancer Facts and Figures 2014 (American Cancer Society Inc.) | |||
Part A - Interpreting the data table
You can estimate the deadliness of each type of cancer by dividing the number of deaths by the number of cases. If nearly everyone who received a diagnosis of one particular type of cancer dies, the ratio will be near 1 (or 100% deadly). If many more people receive a diagnosis than die, the ratio will be near 0 (or 0% deadly).
Rank these three cancer types from the most deadly to the least deadly.
| CANCER TYPE | DEADLINESS |
| Breast | 40400/235000 = 0.1719 |
| Prostate | 29500/233000 = 0.1266 |
| Lung | 159000/224000 = 0.7098 |
| Colon and Rectum | 50310/136800 = 0.3677 |
| Skin | 13000/81200 = 0.1600 |
| Lymphomas | 20100/80000 = 0.2512 |
| Bladder | 15600/74700 = 0.2088 |
| Uterus | 12600/65000 = 0.1938 |
| Kidney | 13900/63900 = 0.2175 |
| Leukaemias | 24100/52400 = 0.4599 |
| Pancreas | 39600/46400 = 0.8534 |
| Liver | 23000/33200 = 0.6927 |
| Brain and Nerve | 14300/23400 = 0.6111 |
| Stomach | 11000/22200 = 0.4954 |
| Ovary | 14300/22000 = 0.6500 |
| Cervix | 4000/12400 = 0.3225 |
| All other types | 101010/259940 = 0.3885 |
| Cancer (In total) | 585720/1665540 = 0.3516 |
Rank (Most deadly to least) :-
Pancreas > Lung > Liver > Ovary > Brain&Nerve > Stomach > Leukaemia > Colon&Rectum > Cervix > Lymphomas > Kidney > Bladder > Uterus > Breast > Skin > Prostate
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