Anal cancer statistics

Cases

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

Deaths

Deaths from anal cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Survival

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

 

Preventable cases

Anal cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 1,600 new anal cancer cases in the UK every year, that's more than 4 every day (2017-2019).
  • Anal cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, anal cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers, with around 1,000 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, anal cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers, with around 530 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for anal cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 80 to 84 (2017-2019).
  • Each year a quarter (25%) of all new anal cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, anal cancer incidence rates have increased by more than three-quarters (77%) in the UK. Rates in females have around doubled (118%), and rates in males have increased by more than a quarter (29%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, anal cancer incidence rates have increased by almost a third (31%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than two-fifths (42%), and rates in males have increased by a seventh (14%) (2017-2019).
  • Anal cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 14% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 2,400 new cases of anal cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Anal cancer incidence rates in England in females are 60% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 89% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 260 cases of anal cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation (around 160 in females and around 100 in males).
  • An estimated 6,700 people who had previously been diagnosed with anal cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth anal cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 440 anal cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's more than 1 every day (2017-2019).
  • Anal cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, anal cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death, with around 280 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, anal cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death, with around 160 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for anal cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than 4 in 10 of all anal cancer deaths (42%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the late 1970s, anal cancer mortality rates have increased by four-fifths (80%) in the UK. Rates in females have more than doubled (121%), and rates in males have increased by almost two-fifths (38%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, anal cancer mortality rates have increased by almost two-fifths (38%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than half (52%), and rates in males have remained stable (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for bowel cancer and anal cancer combined are generally lower in people of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales.
  • Anal cancer mortality rates are projected to rise by 45% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 950 deaths of anal cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Anal cancer deaths in England are more common in people living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth anal cancer mortality statistics

  • More than 1 in 2 (52.2%) people diagnosed with anal cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Anal cancer ten-year survival in England is higher in females than males (2013-2017).
  • Around 7 in 10 (71.2%) people in England diagnosed with anal cancer aged 15-44 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with around a third (32.3%) of people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Almost two-thirds (63.3%) of people in England diagnosed with anal cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with 6 in 10 (60.4%) people in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • For anal 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.

  • 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 280 UK females and 1 in 720 UK males will be diagnosed with anal cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 91% of anal cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
  • 91% of anal cancer cases in the UK are caused by infections.

See more in-depth anal 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.