Cancer incidence by age - UK statistics

Cancer is primarily a disease of older people, with incidence rates increasing with age for most cancers (Figure 3.1). More than three out of five (63%) cancers are diagnosed in people aged 65 and over, and more than a third (36%) are diagnosed in the elderly (aged 75 and over).

Figure 3.1: All Cancers Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (C00-97 Excl. C44) Average Number of New Cases Per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates, UK, 2006-2008

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Figures 3.2 and 3.3 show the five most commonly diagnosed cancers in males and females, respectively, by age group. 

Figure 3.2: The 5 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Males, Average Percentages and Numbers of New Cases, by Age, UK, 2006-2008

Split cells indicate the same number of cases

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Key: Bone = Bone and Connective Tissue   Colorectum = Colorectum including Anus   HL = Hodgkin Lymphoma   Melanoma = Malignant Melanoma   NHL = Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma   Brain & CNS = Brain and Central Nervous System

Figure 3.3: The 5 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Females, Average Percentages and Numbers of New Cases, by Age, UK, 2006-2008

Split cells indicate the same number of cases

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Key: Bone = Bone and Connective Tissue   Colorectum = Colorectum including Anus   HL = Hodgkin Lymphoma    Melanoma = Malignant Melanoma   NHL = Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma   Brain & CNS = Brain and Central Nervous System

section updated 20/07/11

Cancer is relatively rare in children, with less than one per cent (0.5%) of the total cancers being diagnosed in this age group. An average of 799 and 641 cases per year were diagnosed in boys and girls, respectively, in the UK during 2006-2008. The risk of a child developing cancer by 14 years of age in Great Britain is around 1 in 500. 1 Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer (Figure 3.2 and 3.3), accounting for around a third of all cases in boys and girls (33% and 31%, respectively). Please note statistics in the Childhood Cancer section are different from those in this section because the cancers in the Childhood Cancer section are (i) grouped by histology rather than cancer site, and (ii) include non-malignant tumours of the brain and central nervous system.

section updated 20/04/11

Like children, cancer is also relatively rare in teenagers and young adults, with less than one per cent (0.6%) of the total cancers being diagnosed in this age group. In the UK during 2006-2008, an average of 1,029 and 921 cases per year were diagnosed in males and females, respectively. The most common cancer in young men is testicular cancer, accounting for more than a quarter (27%) of the total (Figure 3.2). Other common cancers for males in this age group include Hodgkin Lymphoma (14%) and leukaemia (11%). The most common cancers in young women (Figure 3.3) are malignant melanoma (17%), Hodgkin Lymphoma  (17%) and ovarian cancer(9%).

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One in ten cancers are diagnosed in people aged 25–49 years. Almost twice as many cases were diagnosed in women (an average of 20,054 per year) compared to men (10,291) in this age group in the UK during 2006-2008 (ratio of 2:1); this difference can be attributed to the high incidence of breast cancer, which accounts for around 45% of all female cancers in this age group (Figure 3.3). 

As women aged 25-49 are too young for routine screening in the UK national programmes, the vast majority of breast cancers in this age group are diagnosed symptomatically. Women are invited for breast screening every three years in the UK; women are invited between the ages of 50-70 in England, Wales and Scotland, and between the ages of 50-64 in Northern Ireland. The programmes in England and Northern Ireland are currently extending their screening age groups to include women aged 47-73 and 50-70, respectively, by 2012.

When breast cancer and the sex-specific cancers for both men and women are excluded from the male : female ratio, a greater number of men are at risk of the non sex-specific cancers. 2,3 Other common cancers for females in this age group are malignant melanoma (9%) and cervical cancer (8%).

Many more cervical cancers in this age group are prevented by the  UK national screening programmes each year. Women are invited for cervical screening every three or five years in the UK. The target age-range varies by country; women are invited between the ages of 25-64 in England, 20-64 in Wales and Northern Ireland, and 20-60 in Scotland. Research has shown that cervical screening can prevent around 75% of cancer cases in women who attend regularly. 4

The most common cancers in males in this age group (Figure 3.2) are testicular cancer (15%), malignant melanoma (11%) and colorectal cancer (10%). Prostate cancer contributes only 3% of the cancers diagnosed in men in their middle years.

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Older adults carry the greatest burden of cancer, with over half (53%) of all cancers being diagnosed in 50-74 year olds. Slightly more cases were diagnosed in males (an average of 85,005 per year) than in females (76,077) in this age group in the UK during 2006-2008.

Prostate cancer accounts for more than one in four (27%) cases diagnosed in males in this age group (Figure 3.2). Other common cancers for males include lung cancer (15%) and colorectal cancer (14%). Over a third (35%) of cases diagnosed in females aged 50-74 are breast cancers (Figure 3.3), many of which are diagnosed through screening. Lung and colorectal cancers account for 12% and 11% of cases in females in this age group, respectively.

Some of the colorectal cancers will have been among the first to be detected by the UK national bowel screening programmes, first introduced in the UK in 2006. The bowel screening programmes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland offer screening every two years to people aged 60 -69 using the Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT), and people aged over 70 can request a screening kit. The bowel screening programme in Scotland targets people aged 50-74 for screening every two years, also using the FOBT. The programmes in England and Wales are gradually extending to men and women aged 70-74.

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Over a third (36%) of all cancers are diagnosed in the elderly. The relatively small population of this age group, however, means that incidence rates peak in the elderly for most cancers (Figure 3.1). Slightly more cases were diagnosed in males (an average of 56,628 per year) than in females (54,545) in this age group in the UK during 2006-2008.

Around a quarter (25%) of cases diagnosed in elderly men are prostate cancers (Figure 3.2). Some evidence suggests that prostate cancer in men aged over 70 is more aggressive, is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage, and has a larger tumour volume compared to men aged 69 and under. 3,5,6

Other common cancers for males in this age group are lung cancer (17%) and colorectal cancer(15%). The most common cancers in elderly women (Figure 3.3) are breast cancer (21%), colorectal cancer (16%) and lung cancer (14%).

Some studies have shown that elderly women tend to present with breast tumours that have a more favourable biologic profile (such as a higher percentage of oestrogen receptor-positive tumours with increased age, and reduced proliferation markers). 7

section updated 20/04/11

In Great Britain, the highest incidence rates are in the 75+ age group, where rates have steadily increased from the mid 1970’s to the mid 1990’s. Since then the rates have levelled off at around 2,300 cases per 100,000 population. In contrast, incidence rates have risen steadily from around 1,080 per 100,000 in 1979 to 1,370 per 100,000 in 2008 for those aged 60-74; this is a 27% increase over that time period (Figure 3.48-11).

Figure 3.4: All Cancers Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, Great Britain, 1979-2008

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Similarly for those aged 40-59 years old, incidence rates have increased by 18% from 329 per 100,000 in 1979 to 388 per 100,000 in 2008 (Figure 3.4). Much of this increase is likely to be as a result of an increase in numbers of new diagnoses of both prostate and female breast cancer. Rates of prostate cancer in males aged 40-59 have risen six-fold from around 8 per 100,000 in 1979 to 51 per 100,000 in 2008; whilst for females aged 40-59, breast cancer incidence rates have increased by 61% from 134 per 100,000 women in 1979 to 215 per 100,000 in 2008.

In contrast, there has been a fall in the numbers of lung cancer cases in middle-aged males dropping from 6,300 to around 2,700 cases per year, with a corresponding fall in incidence rates from 93 per 100,000 in 1979 to 35 per 100,000 in 2008 (Figure 3.5 and 3.68-11).

Figure 3.5: The Four Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers and All Cancers Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, 40-59 Year Olds, Females, Great Britain, 1979-2008

*All cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44)
**Colorectum including anus (C18-C21)

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Figure 3.6: The Four Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers and All Cancers Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, 40-59 Year Olds, Males, Great Britain, 1979-2008

*All cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44)
**Colorectum including anus (C18-C21)

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The increasing number of people being diagnosed with cancer is, in part, due to the NHS breast screening programme and the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer. Screening will detect more cancers at an earlier stage.

Incidence of cancer in the under 40’s is relatively rare, but rates have risen by 40% over the last 30 years from 30 cases per 100,000 in 1979 to 41 per 100,000 in 2008.

section updated 20/07/11