This information is for reference purposes only. It was current when produced and may now be outdated. Archive material is no longer maintained, and some links may not work. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing this information should contact us at: https://info.ahrq.gov. Let us know the nature of the problem, the Web address of what you want, and your contact information.
Please go to www.ahrq.gov for current information.
Cancer
Importance and Measures
| Mortality |
| Number of deaths (2005 est.)............................................................................................... |
570,2801 |
| Cause of death rank (2003)................................................................................................... |
2nd2 |
| |
|
| Prevalence |
| Number of Americans that have been diagnosed with cancer (2001)........................................ |
9,800,0001 |
| |
|
| Incidence |
| New cases (2005 est.)....................................................................................................... |
1,372,9101 |
| New cases of breast cancer in women (2005 est.)................................................................ |
211,2401 |
| |
|
| Cost |
| Total costi (2005)........................................................................................................... |
$209.9 billion3 |
| Direct costsii (2005)......................................................................................................... |
$74 billion3 |
Measures
Evidence-based consensus defining good quality care and how to measure it currently exists for only a few cancers and a few aspects of care. Breast and colorectal cancers have high incidence rates and are highlighted in alternate years. The 2004 NHQR highlighted colorectal cancer; this year's focus is on breast cancer— specifically, prevention. The core report measures are:
- Mammography
- Advanced stage breast cancer
- Breast cancer mortality
i Total cost is composed of the cost of medical care itself (direct cost), in addition to the indirect, economic costs of morbidity and mortality.
ii Direct costs are defined as "personal health care expenditures for hospital and nursing home care, drugs, home care, and physician and other professional services." National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Fact Book Fiscal Year 2004. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Return to Contents
5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 
