Penile cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of penile cancer, 2017-2019, UK

Deaths

Deaths from penile cancer, 2017-2019, UK

 

Survival

Survive penile cancer for 10 or more years, 2009-2013, England

 

Preventable cases

Penile cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 760 new penile cancer cases in the UK every year, that's around 2 every day (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, penile cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers, with around 760 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Penile cancer accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Penile cancer accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for penile cancer in the UK are highest in males aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year around a third (32%) of all new penile cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in males aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, penile cancer incidence rates have increased by almost two-fifths (37%) in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, penile cancer incidence rates have increased by a quarter (25%) in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • The most common specific location for penile cancers in the UK is the glans penis (2016-2018).
  • Penile cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 9% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 1,100 new cases of penile cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Penile cancer incidence rates in males in England are 52% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 75 cases of penile cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation.
  • An estimated 4,000 men who had previously been diagnosed with penile cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth penile cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 150 penile cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's around 3 every week (2017-2019).
  • Penile cancer is the not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death in males in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Penile cancer accounts for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for penile cancer in the UK are highest in males aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than 4 in 10 of all penile cancer deaths (42%) in the UK are in males aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, penile cancer mortality rates have decreased by almost a quarter (23%) in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, penile cancer mortality rates have remained stable in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Penile cancer mortality rates are projected to rise by 20% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.There could be around around 250 deaths of penile cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Penile cancer deaths in England are more common in males living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth penile cancer mortality statistics

  • More than two-thirds (68%) of men diagnosed with penile cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2009-2013).
  • More than 8 in 10 men in England diagnosed with penile cancer aged 15-49 survive their disease for five years or more, compared with around two-thirds of men diagnosed aged 70-89 (2009-2013).
  • Five-year relative survival for penile cancer in men is similar to the European average in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For penile 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 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.

  • 1 in 400 UK males will be diagnosed with penile cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 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).
  • 63% of penile cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
See more in-depth penile cancer risk statistics

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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.