An official website of the United States government
On This Page:
- Background
- Measure
- Healthy People 2030 Target
- Data Source
- Trends and Most Recent Estimates
- Additional Information
Background
Death rates alone do not provide a complete picture of the burden that deaths impose on the population. Another useful measure that may add a different dimension is years of life lost (YLL)—the years of life lost because of early death from a particular cause or disease. YLL caused by cancer helps to describe the extent to which the lives of people with cancer are cut short.
The decline in average years of life lost to cancer from 2020-2022 reflects a change in life expectancy. These estimates were based on the 2020 life tables which show an average of two years lower life expectancy compared to previous life tables.
Measure
Years of Life Lost is measured as the difference between the actual age stemming from the disease/cause and the expected age of death due to a particular disease or cause. Specifically, this measure is estimated by linking life table data to each death of a person of a given age and sex. The life table permits a determination of the number of additional years an average person of that age, race, and sex would have been expected to live.
Average Years of Life Lost represents Years of Life Lost divided by the number of people who lost their lives.
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 1975-2022.
Healthy People 2030 Target
There is no Healthy People 2030 target for this measure.
Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
- Average Years of Life Lost
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- By Sex
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Average-years of life lost due to cancer by sex, 1975-2022 Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2022) Average-years of life lost 95% Confidence Interval 
Both Sexes 
14.2 Not available Male
13.2 Not available Female
15.3 Not available - Cancer, All Races, Both Sexes
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Average-years of life lost in 2022 due to cancer, total U.S., all races, both sexes Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost 
Childhood Ages (0-14) 68.4 Testis 32.5 Cervix Uteri 24.1 Brain & ONS 19.2 Hodgkin Lymphoma 17.1 Breast (Female) 16.8 Ovary 16.7 Corpus & Uterus, NOS 16.0 Stomach 15.6 Oral Cavity & Pharynx 15.1 Colon & Rectum 15.0 Melanoma of the Skin 14.7 Liver & IBD 14.6 Esophagus 14.5 All Sites Combined 14.2 Kidney & Renal Pelvis 14.0 Leukemia 14.0 Pancreas 13.8 Lung & Bronchus 13.6 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 12.5 Myeloma 11.9 Urinary Bladder 10.2 Prostate 9.3
- Person-years of Life Lost
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- All Causes of Death, All Races, Both Sexes
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Person-years of life lost in 2022 by cause of death, total U.S., all races, both sexes Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost (in thousands) 
Malignant Cancers 8,637 Heart Disease 8,010 Accidents 6,312 Chronic Lung Disease 1,703 Cerebrovascular 1,695 Suicide & Self-Inflicted Injury 1,586 Diabetes Mellitus 1,472 Cirrhosis 1,195 Homicide 1,034 Alzheimers Disease 783 Nephritis & Nephrosis 689 Septicemia 589 Pneumonia & Influenza 577 Aortic Aneurysm & Dissection 139 HIV 123 Atherosclerosis 35 All Other Causes 12,364 - All Causes of Death, All Races, Males
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Person-years of life lost in 2022 by cause of death, total U.S., all races, males Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost (in thousands) 
Heart Disease 4,702 Accidents 4,318 Malignant Cancers 4,207 Suicide & Self-Inflicted Injury 1,216 Diabetes Mellitus 834 Homicide 823 Cerebrovascular 788 Chronic Lung Disease 762 Cirrhosis 724 Nephritis & Nephrosis 354 Pneumonia & Influenza 292 Septicemia 283 Alzheimers Disease 241 HIV 92 Aortic Aneurysm & Dissection 88 Atherosclerosis 18 All Other Causes 6,290 - All Causes of Death, All Races, Females
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Person-years of life lost in 2022 by cause of death, total U.S., all races, females Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost (in thousands) 
Malignant Cancers 4,430 Heart Disease 3,309 Accidents 1,994 Chronic Lung Disease 941 Cerebrovascular 907 Diabetes Mellitus 638 Alzheimers Disease 542 Cirrhosis 471 Suicide & Self-Inflicted Injury 370 Nephritis & Nephrosis 335 Septicemia 307 Pneumonia & Influenza 285 Homicide 212 Aortic Aneurysm & Dissection 51 HIV 32 Atherosclerosis 17 All Other Causes 6,074 - Cancer, All Races, Both Sexes
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Person-years of life lost in 2022 due to cancer, total U.S., all races, both sexes Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost (in thousands) 
Lung & Bronchus 1,792 Colon & Rectum 794 Breast (Female) 710 Pancreas 667 Liver & IBD 423 Brain & ONS 345 Leukemia 328 Prostate 311 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 248 Esophagus 233 Ovary 221 Corpus & Uterus, NOS 204 Kidney & Renal Pelvis 203 Oral Cavity & Pharynx 180 Urinary Bladder 176 Stomach 169 Myeloma 144 Melanoma of the Skin 121 Cervix Uteri 98 Childhood Ages (0-14) 78 Hodgkin Lymphoma 18 Testis 17 - Cancer, All Races, Males
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Person-years of life lost in 2022 due to cancer, total U.S., all races, males Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost (in thousands) 
Lung & Bronchus 887 Colon & Rectum 425 Pancreas 339 Prostate 311 Liver & IBD 271 Brain & ONS 190 Esophagus 183 Leukemia 180 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 140 Kidney & Renal Pelvis 131 Oral Cavity & Pharynx 126 Urinary Bladder 122 Stomach 95 Myeloma 77 Melanoma of the Skin 74 Childhood Ages (0-14) 39 Testis 17 Hodgkin Lymphoma 11 - Cancer, All Races, Females
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Person-years of life lost in 2022 due to cancer, total U.S., all races, females Overview graph Cause of death Years of life lost (in thousands) 
Lung & Bronchus 905 Breast (Female) 710 Colon & Rectum 369 Pancreas 328 Ovary 221 Corpus & Uterus, NOS 204 Brain & ONS 156 Liver & IBD 152 Leukemia 149 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 108 Cervix Uteri 98 Stomach 74 Kidney & Renal Pelvis 71 Myeloma 67 Urinary Bladder 54 Oral Cavity & Pharynx 53 Esophagus 50 Melanoma of the Skin 48 Childhood Ages (0-14) 39 Hodgkin Lymphoma 7
Additional Information
- For Health Care Professionals. National Cancer Institute..
- Resources for Health Professionals. National Cancer Institute.
- Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. National Cancer Institute.
- SEER Cancer Statistics Review. National Cancer Institute.
- Life Tables. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System.