Factbox: Latest U.S. cancer statistics

(Reuters) - About 1,6 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and 571,950 will die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day, according to the American Cancer Society's latest report on cancer.

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States after heart disease, accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths.

Here are the latest American Cancer Society statistics on cancer in the United States:

* Lung cancer -- An estimated 221,130 Americas will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011, accounting for about 14 percent of all cancer cases. Lung cancer rates have been falling steadily among men, and have just begun falling among women. An estimated 156,940 men and women will die from lung cancer in 2011, accounting for about 27 percent of all cancer deaths expected in 2011.

* Breast cancer - An estimated 230,480 women and 2,140 men will get breast cancer in 2011. Excluding skin cancers, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. Some 39,520 women and 450 men will die from breast cancer in 2011. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women behind lung cancer.

* Prostate cancer -- An estimated 240,890 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011. Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men, and far more black men than white men develop this cancer, although it is not clear why. An estimated 33,720 U.S. men will die from prostate cancer in 2011, making prostate cancer the second-leading cause of cancer death in men behind lung cancer.

* Childhood cancer -- Some 11,210 children aged 14 years and under will develop cancer in 2011. These cancers are rare, representing less than 1 percent of all new cases of cancer. But childhood cancer has been climbing at a rate of 0.6 percent per year since 1975. An estimated 1,320 children are expected to die from cancer in 2011.

Source: The American Cancer Society

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Todd Eastham)