Cancer incidence statistics

Cases

New cases of cancer each year, 2017-2019 average, UK.

Common cancers

More than half of new cases of cancer are breast, prostate, lung or bowel cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Age

Peak rate of cancer cases, 2017-2019, UK

  • There are more than 385,000 new cancer cases in the UK every year, that's more than 1,000 every day (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, there are more than 186,000 new cancer cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, there are around 199,000 new cancer cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer.
  • Since the early 1990s, all cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by around a seventh (13%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by a sixth (17%), and rates in males have increased by around a twentieth (4%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, all cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by less than a twentieth (3%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by around a twentieth (4%), and rates in males have remained stable (2017-2019).
  • The latest cancer Incidence age statistics for the UK for Health Professionals. See data for sex, age, trends over time and more.
  • Almost half (45.5%) of all cancer cases were diagnosed at stage 3 & 4 (out of those with a known stage at diagnosis) in England in 2018 – that’s more than 118,000 cases. See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for more statistics on stage at diagnosis by UK country and cancer type.
  • All cancers combined incidence rates are projected to rise by 2% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 506,000 new cases of all cancers combined every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • All cancers combined incidence rates in England in females are 16% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 19% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017). Around 16,800 cases of all cancers combined each year in England are linked with deprivation (around 7,100 in females and around 9,800 in males).
  • An estimated 2,273,200 people who had previously been diagnosed with cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2013.
  • UK incidence is ranked higher than three-quarters of Europe.
  • UK incidence is ranked higher than 90% of the world.

See more in-depth cancer incidence statistics for all cancers combined

  • Breast, prostate, lung, and bowel cancers together accounted for over half (53%) of all new cancer cases in the UK in 2017-2019.
  • Thyroid and liver cancers have shown the fastest increases in incidence in both males and females over the past decade in the UK.
  • Incidence of melanoma skin cancer, kidney cancer, and head and neck cancers has also increased markedly in females over the past decade in the UK.
  • Incidence of melanoma skin cancer, kidney cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma has also increased markedly in males over the past decade in the UK.
  • Cancer of unknown primary and stomach cancers have shown the fastest decreases in incidence in both males and females over the past decade in the UK.
  • For lung, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, oesophageal cancers, and all cancers excluding non-melanoma cancer the incidence trend differs between the genders.
  • Incidence rates are projected to rise for most types of cancer in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040
  • Among cancer types where rates are projected to rise in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, the size of the increase ranges from less
  • For most cancer types, incidence rates in females and males in England are higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017). There are some exceptions where incidence rates are higher in the least deprived quintile, including female breast, prostate, and melanoma skin cancers.

See more in-depth cancer incidence statistics for common cancers

  • Incidence rates for all cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than a third (36%) of all new cancer cases (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • The most common cancers vary considerably by age group; different cancer types tend to be diagnosed in young people compared with older people.
  • Since the early 1990s, incidence rates for all cancers combined have increased for all the broad age groups in the UK. The increase is largest in people aged 25-49 where rates have increased by more than a fifth (22%) (2016-2018).

See more in-depth cancer incidence statistics by age at diagnosis

  • Incidence rates for all cancers combined are lower in the Asian and Black ethnic groups, and in people of mixed or multiple ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England. However, incidence rates are higher compared with the White ethnic group in males in the Black ethnic group (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.

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Local Cancer Statistics

Local level cancer statistics; search profiles by area, constituency or health board in the UK.

Go to local cancer statistics

Interested in an overview for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

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Cancer stats explained

See information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.

Cancer stats explained

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.