13.2: Types of Cancer

There are more than 100 types of cancer. Types of cancer are usually named for the organs or tissues where the cancers form. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and brain cancer starts in the brain. Cancers also may be described by the type of cell that formed them, such as an epithelial cell or a squamous cell.

Common categories of cancers that begin in specific types of cells include carcinomas, sarcomas, leukemias, lymphoma, myeloma, and melanoma.

• Carcinoma
  • Carcinomas are the most common type of cancer. They are formed by epithelial cells, which are the cells that cover the inside and outside surfaces of the body.
• Sarcoma
  • Sarcomas are cancers that form in bone and soft tissues, including muscle, fat, blood vessels, lymph vessels, and fibrous tissue (such as tendons and ligaments).
• Leukemia
  • Cancers that begin in the blood-forming tissue of the bone marrow are called leukemias. These cancers do not form solid tumors. Instead, large numbers of abnormal white blood cells (leukemia cells and leukemic blast cells) build up in the blood and bone marrow, crowding out normal blood cells.
• Lymphoma
  • Lymphoma is cancer that begins in lymphocytes (T cells or B cells). These are disease-fighting white blood cells that are part of the immune system. In lymphoma, abnormal lymphocytes build up in lymph nodes and lymph vessels, as well as in other organs of the body.
• Multiple Myeloma
  • Multiple myeloma is cancer that begins in plasma cells, another type of immune cell. The abnormal plasma cells, called myeloma cells, build up in the bone marrow and form tumors in bones all through the body.
• Melanoma
  • Melanoma is cancer that begins in cells that become melanocytes, which are specialized cells that make melanin (the pigment that gives skin its color). Most melanomas form on the skin, but melanomas can also form in other pigmented tissues, such as the eye.
• Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors
  • There are different types of brain and spinal cord tumors. These tumors are named based on the type of cell in which they formed and where the tumor first formed in the central nervous system. For example, an astrocytic tumor begins in star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes, which help keep nerve cells healthy. Brain tumors can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer).

Compare types of cancer

The National Cancer Institute provides in depth information into the types of cancers. One of the ways they provide the information covering about 100 types of cancer is by the location in the body. Take a moment to compare a few types of cancer for specific areas of the body to better understand the similarities and differences. You can compare the statistics, causes and prevention, treatment, and screening options.

Visit the National Cancer Institute’s “Cancers by Location/System”

Cancers Rates

Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death. Based on data from 2015-2017 it is estimated that about 39.5% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime. Cancer statistics provide data on the number of new cases and on the number of deaths. Comparing incident rate and death rate can be helpful for understanding the survival rate of various types of cancer. For example, estimations for 2022 show breast cancer incident as 290,560 with 43,780 deaths, however Lung cancer shows 236,740 incidents with 130,180 deaths. This data shows us that lung cancer has a much higher rate of mortality than breast cancer.

Table \(\PageIndex{3}\): National Cancer Society Estimated Cancer Incident and Death Rates for 2022 (listed by incident rate highest to lowest)
Source: American Cancer Society, 2022

Cancer Type	Estimated New Cases	Estimated Deaths
Breast	290,560	43,780
Prostate	268,490	34,500
Lung and bronchus	236,740	130,180
Colorectum	151,030	52,580
Melanoma of the skin	99,780	7,650
Urinary bladder	81,180	17,100
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	80,470	20,250
Kidney and renal pelvis	79,000	13,920
Uterine corpus	65,950	12,550
Pancreas	62,210	49,830
Leukemia	60,650	24,000
Oral cavity and pharynx	54,000	11,230
Thyroid	43,800	2,230
Liver and intrahepatic bile duct	41,260	30,520
Myeloma	34,470	12,640
Stomach	26,380	11,090
Brain and other nervous system	25050	18280
Esophagus	20,640	16,410
Ovary	19,880	12,810
Cervix	14,100	42,80
Soft tissue (including heart)	13190	51,30
Larynx	12,470	3,820
Gallbladder and other biliary	12,130	4400
Small intestine	11,790	1,960
Testis	9,910	460
Anus, anal canal and anorectum	9,440	1,670
Vagina and other female genital	8,870	1,630
Hodgkin lymphoma	8,540	920
Vulva	6,330	1,560
Ureter and other urinary organs	4,010	970
Bones and joints	3,910	2,100
Eye and orbit	3,360	410
Penis and other male genital	2,070	470