FACTBOX: Group sees 565,650 U.S. cancer deaths in 2008

(Reuters) - The American Cancer Society on Wednesday issued its annual U.S. cancer statistics report, projecting that 565,650 Americans will die of cancer in 2008 and 1.4 million will be diagnosed with cancer. Following is a list of the top five predicted cancer killers for U.S. men and women.

MEN

-- Lung cancer, typically caused by smoking, is forecast to kill 90,810 U.S. men, accounting for 31 percent of all cancer deaths among American males.

-- Cancer of the prostate, the gland near the bladder that produces fluid for semen, is projected as the No. 2 cancer killer among U.S. men, with 28,660 deaths.

-- An estimated 24,260 U.S. men are projected to die of colorectal cancer, counting cancers of the colon and rectum.

-- Cancer of the pancreas, a gland near the stomach that produces juices that help break down food and hormones that help control blood sugar levels, is projected to kill 17,500 U.S. men.

-- An estimated 12,570 U.S. men will die of liver cancer.

Overall, cancer is expected to kill 294,120 U.S. men in 2008.

WOMEN

-- Lung cancer also is projected as the leading cancer killer among U.S. women, with 71,030 deaths expected -- about 26 percent of all cancer deaths among women.

-- Breast cancer is expected to account for 15 percent of cancer deaths among U.S. women, with 40,480 deaths forecast.

-- Colorectal cancer is forecast to kill 25,700 women.

-- An estimated 16,790 U.S. women will die of pancreatic cancer.

-- Cancer of the ovaries is expected to kill 15,520. It causes more deaths than any other type of female reproductive cancer.

Cancer is forecast to kill 271,530 U.S. women in 2008.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; editing by Maggie Fox and Todd Eastham)