Oesophageal cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of oesophageal cancer, 2017-2019, UK

Deaths

Deaths from oesophageal cancer, 2017-2019, UK

 

Survival

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

Preventable cases

Oesophageal cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 9,400 new oesophageal cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 26 every day (2017-2019).
  • Oesophageal cancer is the 14th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 2% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, oesophageal cancer is the 16th most common cancer, with around 2,900 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, oesophageal cancer is the 9th most common cancer, with around 6,500 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for oesophageal cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year around 4 in 10 (41%) of all new oesophageal cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, oesophageal cancer incidence rates have increased by less than a twentieth (3%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by a sixth (17%), and rates in males have increased by a tenth (10%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, oesophageal cancer incidence rates have decreased by around a twentieth (4%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by a tenth (10%), and rates in males have remained stable (2017-2019).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for oesophageal cancer.
  • The most common specific location for oesophageal cancers in the UK is the lower third of the oesophagus (2016-2018).
  • Oesophageal cancer incidence rates are projected to fall by 6% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 11,700 new cases of oesophageal cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Oesophageal cancer incidence rates in England in females are 43% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 50% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 1,200 cases of oesophageal cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation (around 320 in females and around 890 in males).
  • Incidence rates for oesophageal 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 15,600 people who had previously been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth oesophageal cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 8,000 oesophageal cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's 22 every day (2017-2019).
  • Oesophageal cancer is the 7th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 5% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, oesophageal cancer is the 7th most common cause of cancer death, with around 2,500 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, oesophageal cancer is the 4th most common cause of cancer death, with around 5,500 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for oesophageal cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year almost half of all oesophageal cancer deaths (48%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, oesophageal cancer mortality rates have increased by two-fifths (40%) in the UK. Rates in females have remained stable, and rates in males have increased by more than half (53%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, oesophageal cancer mortality rates have decreased by around a tenth (9%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by a seventh (14%), and rates in males have decreased by around a tenth (9%) (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for oesophageal 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.
  • Mortality rates for oesophageal cancer are projected to fall by 16% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, to 13 deaths per 100,000 people by 2035.
  • Oesophageal cancer deaths in England are more common in people living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth oesophageal cancer mortality statistics

  • More than 1 in 10 (12.4%) people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Oesophageal cancer ten-year survival in England is higher in males than females (2013-2017).
  • Around a fifth (19.0%) of people in England diagnosed with oesophageal cancer aged 15-54 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with around 5 in 100 (6.0%) people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Oesophageal cancer survival has tripled in the last 50 years in the UK.
  • In the 1970s, less than 5 in 100 (3.6%) people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was more than 1 in 10 (12.3%).
  • Around a fifth (21.2%) of people in England diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with more than 1 in 10 (13.6%) people in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • Five-year relative survival for oesophageal cancer is generally similar to the European average in England, Wales and Scotland but above the European average for males in Northern Ireland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For oesophageal 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.
Find further information on our oesophageal cancer survival trends page

  • 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 120 UK females and 1 in 54 UK males will be diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 59% of oesophageal cancer cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth oesophageal 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.