The U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations Tool provides cancer statistics by stage at diagnosis.

When cancer is diagnosed, other tests are done to find out if it has spread through blood vessels and lymph nodes or to other parts of the body. This process is called staging. The type and stage of cancer tells doctors what kind of treatment is needed. Cancers that are found before they spread to other parts of the body are often easier to treat and have better survival.

CDC and the National Cancer Institute use a staging system called Summary Stage. Summary Stage groups invasive cancers as: localized (the tumor is only in the organ it started in), regional (the tumor has spread to nearby organs, structures, or regional lymph nodes), distant (the tumor has spread to parts of the body far from where it started), and unknown. Cases reported only by death certificate or autopsy are not staged. Urinary bladder cases diagnosed in situ (tumors are only on the innermost layer of the bladder lining) are considered invasive.

Sometimes researchers classify cancers, especially those found by screening tests, as “early stage” (localized) or “late stage” (regional and distant combined).

Suggested Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Incidence and Relative Survival by Stage at Diagnosis for Common Cancers. USCS Data Brief, no. 25. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services; 2021.

USCS-DataBrief-No25-November2021-h.pdf