Trends in UK cancer incidence statistics
This page presents trends in cancer incidence rates.
In the 30-year period 1977 to 2006, the overall age-standardised incidence rate for cancer has increased in Great Britain, by 25%, with a 14% increase in men and a 32% increase in women.(Figure 6.1)
UK cancer incidence trends in the ten-year period 1997 to 2006 have remained fairly constant. There has been a slight decrease in men (by 1%) and a slight increase in women (by around 2%) ( Figure 6.2). 1-4 The highest increases have been in people aged 15-34.
Figure 6.3 shows the trend in incidence and mortality rates for all cancers, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, in Great Britain.
Incidence trends for individual cancers
The trends for individual cancers vary enormously ( Figure 6.4). Large decreases (around 30%) in incidence rates occurred for male and female bladder 1-4( see note below) and stomach cancer.
Large increases in cancer incidence rates over the last ten years have been seen for malignant melanoma, mesothelioma, uterus (womb) cancer and oral cancer.
For men, the most rapidly increasing cancer incidence rates were for malignant melanoma (64%), prostate cancer (37%), mesothelioma (26%) and liver cancer (29%).
The increase in prostate cancer incidence has been fuelled by the increasing use of PSA testing since the early 1990s, that detects invasive cancers at an earlier stage as well as latent tumours that might otherwise have remained asymptomatic and undiagnosed during the man’s lifetime. 1
For women the most rapidly increasing rates were for mesothelioma (61%), malignant melanoma (49%), uterus cancer (22%) and oral cancer (17%).
Please note: Over the period 1996-1999 there was a marked reduction in the numbers of registrations of invasive bladder cancer. This reduction is likely to be a reflection of the change in coding practice recommended by the European Network of Cancer Registries and subsequently by the United Kingdom Association of Cancer Registries.Some cases classified and coded previously as invasive bladder cancer are now coded as carcinoma in situ of the bladder or neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behaviour of the bladder. This will explain much of the changes over time and between countries
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References for cancer incidence trends
- Office for National Statistics, 2009 Cancer Statistics registrations: registrations of cancer diagnosed in 2006, England.
- ISD Online, 2009 Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Survival data. Accessed 2009
- Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Cancer Incidence in Wales
- Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, 2009 Cancer Incidence and Mortality.
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