Bladder cancer statistics

Cases

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

Deaths

Deaths from bladder cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Survival

Survive bladder cancer for 10 or more years, 2013-2017, England

Preventable cases

Bladder cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 10,500 new bladder cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 29 every day (2017-2019).
  • Bladder cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 3% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, bladder cancer is the 17th most common cancer, with around 2,800 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, bladder cancer is the 7th most common cancer, with around 7,600 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for bladder cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year almost 6 in 10 (56%) of all new bladder cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 2000s, bladder cancer incidence rates have decreased by almost a quarter (23%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by almost a quarter (23%), and rates in males have decreased by more than a quarter (27%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, bladder cancer incidence rates have decreased by almost a sixth (16%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by around a seventh (15%), and rates in males have decreased by around a sixth (18%) (2017-2019).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for bladder cancer.
  • Bladder cancer incidence rates are projected to fall by 14% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 10,700 new cases of bladder cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Bladder cancer incidence rates in England in females are 47% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 23% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 980 cases of bladder cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation (around 370 in females and around 610 in males).
  • Incidence rates for bladder cancer are lower in the Asian and Black ethnic groups, compared with the White ethnic group, in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
  • An estimated 69,100 people who had previously been diagnosed with bladder cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth bladder cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 5,600 bladder cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's 15 every day (2017-2019).
  • Bladder cancer is the 9th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 3% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, bladder cancer is the 14th most common cause of cancer death, with around 1,800 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, bladder cancer is the 7th most common cause of cancer death, with around 3,800 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for bladder cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year around 7 in 10 of all bladder cancer deaths (71%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, bladder cancer mortality rates have decreased by around a quarter (24%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by almost a sixth (16%), and rates in males have decreased by more than a third (35%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, bladder cancer mortality rates have decreased by more than a twentieth (7%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by almost a tenth (8%), and rates in males have decreased by a tenth (10%) (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for bladder cancer are generally lower in people of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, where data is available, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales.
  • Bladder cancer mortality rates are projected to fall by 4% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 7,700 deaths of bladder cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Bladder cancer deaths in England are more common in people living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth bladder cancer mortality statistics

  • Almost 1 in 2 (46.3%) people diagnosed with bladder cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Bladder cancer ten-year survival in England is lower in females than males (2013-2017).
  • Almost 6 in 10 (57.4%) people in England diagnosed with bladder cancer aged 15-54 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with almost a third (31.5%) of people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • In the 1970s, a third (32.5%) of people diagnosed with bladder cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was half (50.2%).
  • Almost 6 in 10 (55.6%) people in England diagnosed with bladder cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with almost half (46.1%) of people in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • Five-year relative survival for bladder cancer is above or similar to the European average in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but below the European average in Scotland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For bladder cancer, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
  • Further survival statistics by stage can be found on the Early Diagnosis Data Hub and information on treatments for cancer can be found here.
  • Further one-, five- and ten-year survival statistics can be found on the Cancer Statistics Dashboard.
Further information on bladder cancer survival trends over time can be found here

  • A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors).
  • 1 in 130 UK females and 1 in 55 UK males will be diagnosed with bladder cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 49% of bladder cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
  • 45% of bladder cancer cases in the UK are caused by smoking.
  • 6% of bladder cancer cases in the UK are caused by workplace exposures.
  • 2% of bladder cancer cases in the UK are caused by ionising radiation.

See more in-depth bladder cancer risk statistics

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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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.